Trust No One
by Jashomara
Summary: Somebody is trying to kill Kai, but who? After Mariah saves him from getting shot to death one night, he stays at her house. Now, for some unknown reason, the killer wants her too. The question that’s on everyone’s mind is… who’s the killer? KaixMariah
1. I Wish I Could Speak Russian

Jashomara: Hey, peoples! I noticed that I haven't written a Kai x Mariah story in a while, and that's my favorite couple. So, I now have another idea.

Rating may change either because of strong language, blood and gore, or lime, but for right now, it's just rated 'T'.

**Summary:** Somebody is trying to kill Kai, but who? After Mariah saves him from getting shot to death one night, he stays at her house. Now, for some unknown reason, the killer wants her too. The question that's on everyone's mind is… who's the killer? Everyone's a suspect.

Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade.

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It was freezing cold outside. One of the coldest nights Russia has ever encountered. Layers of frost cover the ground, street, and grass. For some reason people were still out and about like it was nothing. A cold gust of wind picked up, making a certain pink hair girl shiver.

Her white tank top, baby blue sweater and fluffy, baby blue coat just weren't getting her warm enough. Rubbing her gloved hands together, in vain, she tried to get warm.

Wanting to check out all the great sights that Moscow had to offer, she went out and got lost. The map that Mariah was using was all in Russian and since she couldn't read Russian… she'd be better off taking directions from a monkey.

Sighing in frustration, she sat on a bench nearby. How she wished someone that spoke English or Chinese would come by. _I'm never going to find my house_. _Why does bad stuff always happen to me? _She rested her head on her fists and closed her eyes. _First my parents get divorced, then my mom and I move to a place where I have no clue what anyone is saying, and now I'm lost! Oh, joy!_

"What a great day to leave my cell phone at home." She muttered, shivering as another cold wind engulfed her.

Ding! She heard something behind her. Looking back, she saw that it was a small café'. When the door opened, a sweet smell came to her nose. _Pastries and hot chocolate is smelling really good right now_. She thought about if she should go in or not. _What the heck, I'm already lost and maybe somebody can speak English in there._

She reluctantly got up, knowing that the wind was about to blow. _Here goes_. She walked into the shop, hearing the 'ding', she knew that must have been what she heard. Warmth and sweet smells hit her all in one blow. Smiling in delight, she took a seat at the counter.

A menu was in good reach. She picked it up and looked at it. Confusion covered her face. Turning the page, she thought,_ It's all in Russian!_ Her stomach growled at that thought. _Well, it is only common sense, I am in Russia. _

"Can't read Russian?" a very familiar and annoying voice asked. _Please tell me that isn't who I think it is_. She looked to her left to find the very person she didn't want to see in this situation; Kai Hiwatari.

"Yes." She lied. "I just can't figure out what I want." Too suborn to admit that she couldn't read the menu, Mariah tried to understand at lease one word. "I'm just trying to find the hot chocolate and donuts." She said, after noticing him still looking at her.

Kai just stared at her, quite amused, for a few more seconds, wondering if she knew she had the main course menu, not the dessert menu. The pinkette was about to tell him to stop staring unless he wanted a black eye, but he turned and started talking to a waiter in Russian.

He gave the waiter some money and a note, then left out of the door, but Mariah didn't see that part. She did see when he got up and started to walk away. Mariah watched his retreating figure, then turned back to the menu. Knowing that she couldn't understand a word, she was about to leave. Before she could get out of her seat a waiter came by and gave her some hot chocolate, a donut and a note. It had taken her by surprise.

She narrowed her eyebrows and opened the note. It read: You owe me. She smirked as she figured out who wrote it. She was about to take a sip of her hot chocolate, when a lady came in screaming,

"Help! Somebody got shot! Call the police!" in Russian, but of course Mariah didn't know what she was saying, so she went to see. A waiter immediately rushed to the phone and stared screaming something.

Getting up from her seat, the pinkette was pushed and shoved by people trying to get out the opposite way the lady came in. Getting agitated that she couldn't get through, Mariah pushed and shoved back. Finally she got out of the crowd.

Before thinking, she opened the door and was greeted by a rude rush of wind and coldness. This unpleasant surprise left the pinkette freezing. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head.

"Why are you following me?!" somebody yelled aloud in a voice that reflected that they were hurt. Mariah looked to up to see, lo and behold, Kai Hiwatari. "What do you want?!"

Gasping, she put her hand to mouth. The two-toned haired boy had blood dripping down his left arm, leg, and his chest. His right hand covered the bullet wound on the left side of his chest. "Hey, why aren't you dead!" Someone screamed. The shocked girl looked to the person Kai was staring at in fear.

He had two guns in his hands and was about to shoot again. It was obvious neither one of the people had noticed Mariah standing there. It was late at night so it was hard to see anything. "Die!" the shooter yelled.

Thinking fast, Mariah looked around and spotted a forgotten motorcycle with the engine running. _My luck must be changing._ Hopping on the motorcycle, she remembered she didn't know how to drive it! Recalling the movie _To Fast To Furious_ she did what they had done. Mariah pulled back the handles.

The force from the take off nearly sent Mariah flying backwards, but she held on tightly. At the same time the guy shot at Kai, but when they heard the motorcycle they both turned their heads. The bullet was aimed at the middle of Kai's face, but he turned at just the right, precise moment. The bullet whisked pasted him, missing by a half inch. It was so close, that he felt the wind come from it as it tour through the air past his nose.

After shaking off his shock, Kai got ready to jump on the motorcycle. 3…2…1… jump! He land right on the back of the seat, causing great discomfort to him. The shooter then snapped back in to reality and started to shoot at the accelerating mobile. "We have got to stop meeting like this!" Mariah yelled over the roaring engine.

Kai just held on for dear life to Mariah. The motorcycle swerved and jerked like crazy. "Do y-you no h-how to drive t-this thing!?" as if jumping directly on the motorcycle didn't cause enough pain for Kai, they were going over all sorts on bumps! This further hurt his "sensitive area".

"No!" Mariah yelled to him. The shooter had now stopped, but Mariah still wanted to get as far away as possible. The cold air whipped at her mercilessly_. I'm going to catch a cold_. She thought to herself.

"Mariah, you can slow down now!" Kai finally yelled.

"No I can't." she yelled back, her hair whipping at Kai's face.

"Why?"

"I don't know how!" she yelled zooming down the street. Everything past them so fast. They were lucky nobody was on the streets. They had all fled because of the shooting and the cops, like always, never showed up.

Kai took Mariah's hands in his and gently let the handles slip through their grip. Then when they were slow enough, he grabbed the breaks and they stopped. "That was crazy." Mariah sighed. They both got of the mobile.

"I guess I don't owe you anymore." The pinkette smiled. Kai looked like he was about to say something Kai-like, but clutched his chest in pain, then collapsed in Mariah's arms. She looked down at him in alarm. "Oh, great! What do I do now?" she looked at her surroundings and noticed that she had been there before. She was standing in the yard of a white and lavender, two-story house.

The yard had bushes, manipulated into the shapes of different animals. It had lavender double doors with crystal glass windows on both of them. In the glass was an angel design. This wasn't just a house. I was Mariah's house! She picked Kai up and carried him in side. Maybe luck was on her side…

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Well, that my first chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.

I wrote this chapter over 3 times. The first chapter wasn't very realistic. I didn't feel the second one and you know you have to feel the story in order to write more. Then I came up with this one, so please review.


	2. Saved Your Life! Again

I really wanted to wait until Lady J came over before I started another chapter, but I'm bored and I couldn't wait to write the next chapter to this.

Please tell me if the characters start to get out of character too early. Eventually they will because, let's face it, you'll never see Kai and Mariah hook up on the actual show, but for now, I have to keep them in character.

Thanks to: **Fire Pheonix2**, **Molly Yokunaii**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **amber912**, **twin1**, **Bluestray**, **though i choose death instead of pointless pain**, and **BlueGreenGrey** for reviewing. It really means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. I do own my OC's whom you will read in this chapter.

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**Somewhere In A Secret Place**

Darkness consumed everything around. The place was old and had a very foul smell to it. Damp, green moss covered the cracked, brick walls that were, surprisingly, still standing. An eerie aura surrounded the place, like something evil lurked there, daring anyone to enter. Water dripped from a nearby broken pipe, echoing down a dark hall that led to a sewer, adding eerie sound effects.

One figure waited in the darkness. Repulsive muck from the sewer covered the person's feet and the lower part of her trench coat. She had been waiting for quite some time now and was about to leave. Who'd want to stay in a repugnant smelling sewer all morning anyway? Turning towards the hall to leave, she was horrified to come face to face with someone else.

Backing up she tripped and fell over a tin pail, making it topple and crash on the cold, wet concrete. The sound ripped through the silent and echo down the hall.

"Be quiet! Do you want anyone to hear us?" the figure that just came in whispered. Grunting, the second figure got up and brushed the muck off her hands. She had fallen right into the spot were the pipe's water dripped.

Grimacing, she asked, "Were you followed?" looking at the taller person.

"If I was, I wouldn't have come here." The first retorted rolling his eyes in the dark.

"Don't get smart with me." The female's voice reflected anger. A chilling silence took hold of the place. Then she continued in a calmer tone. "Is he dead?"

The male hesitated and then said, "No… Some girl came out of nowhere and rescued him. I didn't get a good look at her face." He lowered his head in shame, but had a determined look on his face. "I'll get him next time!"

"No… I think I'll try my hand now. If you want someone killed, you have to kill them yourself."…

**At Mariah's House**

The sun beamed down on a very familiar two toned haired teen. It was now eight in the morning. He was conformably sleeping in a bed with blue and white sheets. Turning on his left side, his eyes shot open due to a searing pain in his arm.

Clutching the sore spot, he sat up. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes, wishing the sun would just go out for a moment. His vision was still kind of blurry, but he could deal. He looked down at his bandaged arm, reminding him of last night. It all felt so surreal. He ran his hand through the thick, tangled blue stuff on his head called hair. He tried to sigh, but instead a yawn came out.

Then it hit him. This wasn't his room! It had blue walls and carpet. In front of the white closet, which was straight head of him, were all kinds of sport equipment. Baseball bats, soccer balls, hockey pucks, a basketball and more!

In the closet were clothes with multitudes of colors. Most outfits were pants and jerseys. A t.v. sat on the dresser beside the closet. He looked in the mirror to himself and noted that he looked like a truck had hit him. He also noted that he was in a girl's room. If it weren't for the perfume, comb, brush and other accessories on the dresser, he wouldn't have known. The owner of this room must be a real tomboy.

When he moved his arm, he noticed something soft was there. Looking down, he saw a baby blue bunny rabbit. He was holding it! Flinging it to the other side of the room, he thought, _How'd that get there?_

"I'm out of here." He muttered, getting up and walking to the door. Stepping right in front of the door, something baby blue and silver caught his eye. Looking back on the dresser, he saw a baby blue and silver book. (A/N: There are a lot of baby blue things in this story.) Not knowing why himself, he went over and picked it up.

It had two cute baby white tiger on the front. One was laying down sleeping and the other was licking his paw. Imprinted at the top in silver was a name. That name was: Mariah.

Kai put the book down after that. Glancing around again, he thought, _This is her room?_

Without a second hesitation he was out of the door. Quietly shutting the door, he could hear talking. He couldn't make out the voices though. Stepping lightly, he made his way to the stairs. The warm temperature felt good to him. It gave him that cozy home feeling. Ignoring the feeling, he set his mind to getting the quickest way out.

Walking down the stairs, the voices became clearer. There were three people. One voice was loud and excited; a child's voice. Kai hated loud and exited children. Well, forget the loud and exited, he just hated children. He saw no need for them. All they ever do is wine and be taken care of.

The next voice was that of a woman. She sounded young and energetic, but serious at the same time… weird. The last voice was all too familiar to Kai. It wasn't as excited and energetic as usual, but he knew it well. Yep, it was Mariah. Going the opposite direction of the voices he came face to well waxed wood (Try saying that 5 times fast.) with double doors.

Heart quickening, he walked over to it. "Where you goin'?"

Kai turned on his heels and looked around, but he didn't see anyone. "I'm down here." Looking down he saw a small raven-haired girl.

"Hi! My name's Mala! (A/N: Take the 'T' off Tala and put an 'M') You must be Kitten's boyfriend- You slept for a really long time- It's like eleventy o'clock already- I've been up since 6 o'clock- At first I stayed in your room watching you sleep- Auntie Moka told me to come out though- Did you know you snore when you sleep- Really, really loudly at that- You slob too- It's really nasty- But I have a brother and he does that too…"

Kai just stared at the girl, amazed at how she defied the laws of grammar and English. She didn't even have her front teeth! Was she even breathing? He had no idea anyone could talk so fast and so much. He had no idea how he understood it either.

_Wait, I don't slob, nor do I snore! Wait! Who the hell is Kitten! _He thought as the girl kept talking.

"Hey, Bunny! Are even listening to me?! Bunny!" Kai looked down again to see the girl with her hands on her hips looking at him angrily. "Where you listening?" she demanded.

"Mala, who are you talking—Hey, you're awake!" a lady came around the corner. "Is she bothering you?" The lady asked, pulling Mala to her legs away from Kai.

Kai's expression showed that he was trying to make sense of this mixed up situation. The facial expression he wanted to pull was one that said 'Yes, your daughter (or whoever she is to you) is bothering me and it would be in both her and my best interest if you get her as far away from me as possible', but that's very un-Kai-like.

The lady looked to be in her early twenties. She was a light brown color with blue eyes. It gave her an exotic look. Her pink hair was in a middle ponytail letting it stop just above waist length. It was wavy as in got down to the bottom. The white and blue spaghetti-strapped shirt and hip hugger pants showed off her Coca-Cola bottle figure. In other descriptions, she was very pretty.

"Hi, my names Moka." She smiled, introducing herself.

"Yeah, this is Kitten's mom and my auntie! Well, she's not really my auntie, but since my parents don't want me no more, she keeps me!" the young girl said, a huge smile on her face. "She was the one that fixed you when you got shot." Mala explained, her golden eyes shining brightly. She reminded Kai of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Yeah, you're a lucky one. The bullet in you chest missed your heart by an inch and it didn't hit any arteries. You could have bled to death, but Mariah got you here just in time." Moka told him, the smile not once leaving her face.

Then Mariah walked out, not making eye contact with Kai. This was a very weird situation for her.

"Kitten, say hi to your _boyfriend_." Mala teased when she saw Mariah.

"Mala, I told you, he's not my boyfriend." Mariah said, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Well, you like him." Mala countered.

"No I don't." she was slowly losing patience with her cousin, whom she had been having this same discussion with since 7 this morning. Mala is one of those evil cousins who look all innocent at first, but are soon revealed as little demons who's mission and life goal is only to make their older cousin's life miserable.

"But you think he's cute." The raven-haired girl urged, enjoying what she was doing.

"No, I don't." The rope of patience was slipping out of Mariah's hand and she would soon be falling into the pit of rage.

"So are you calling him ugly?"

"That's enough Mala." Mariah's mom quickly stepped in. Mala just gave a sly smirk. Mariah glared back at her 6-year-old cousin.

The room stayed quiet for a while before Kai finally spoke up. "Thanks for helping me even though I had the situation under control. I'm leaving now." Kai then turned to the door.

"What do you mean you had the situation under control? You were unconscious!" Mariah yelled, angry at how stubborn he was. Admit it or not, she saved his life! They both knew it.

"Whatever." Kai said over his shoulder before opening the door.

"Hey, don't go out there. Isn't somebody trying to kill you?" Moka asked, naturally concerned. "It's dangerous, you already have three holes in you! You want more?"

"I don't need your concern, lady. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself." He said in his cool Kai way, then walked out of the door.

Moka huffed. "Who does he think he is? Mariah you are not dating him." She said sternly.

"I never wanted to!"

**Somewhere on the street**

The stubborn teen walked cautiously down the street, being extra suspicious of everyone. Hands in pockets and face expression blank, he thought about what he would do now. What's the smartest thing to do? If he were to go back to his mansion, he'd probably be walking right into a trap. What would he do there anyway? Ask his grandfather for help? Yeah right!

Although, that is where his pistol is… but like he figured earlier, it could be a trap. Then again, wondering around the city in the open wasn't such a bright idea either.

_Now, time to find out who our killer is. Who'd want to kill me? _Smirking he thought, _That's a long list._

Then he glanced back at a black Mercedes that had been following him for quite some time. He couldn't see who was in the car, the windows were tented. Quickening his pace, he turned a corner sharply. The vehicle still followed slowly behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the person let their window down. All he could think was, _Shit!_

Without a moments wait, he darted off around another corner. The car sped up behind in pursuit. It wasn't long before Kai heard gunshots behind him. _Crap! How am I going to out run a car? _He thought looking around for something he could ride, throw, shoot, anything! Nothing…

He couldn't go into a store, innocent people could get hurt, but did he really care? He thought for a while, passing a jewelry store. Then after seeing a happy family complete with a little sister, older brother, a mom and a dad, he couldn't. He wasn't that heartless.

People were already scattering. _Cowards_. He thought imagining what he would do if he saw someone running for their lives. He'd probably just go about his way, not even caring, but he certainly wouldn't run away.

His heart pounded as he ran away from the black car. He would have probably looked back to see who the person was, if he weren't running for his life. Beads of sweat made their way down his face. Suddenly, he felt something pierce his leg.

He got shot… again. The searing pain was too much. He was seriously thinking of stopping and getting shot up and hoping to die a quick death, when a shiny red Mustang pulled in front of the Mercedes and a person from inside pulled him in. The driver of the Mustang pushed the gas and the convertible sped off.

It all happened so fast, Kai didn't even have a chance to think… or open his eyes.

"I told you, you were going to get shot." Recognizing the voice, he opened his eyes. It was Moka!

"What? Did you follow me or something?" Kai asked monotone, not sounding at all grateful. Then he noticed he was sitting on someone.

"You can get off me at any time, you know." Kai looked back and saw that he was on Mariah. She must have been the one that pulled him inside.

He quickly got off and sat on the seat. It was then that the black Mercedes pulled up beside them, but surprisingly, sped off in another direction.

Kai would never admit it, but he was never happier to see Mariah in his whole life. He sat between her and Mala with his arms crossed, as if nothing had even happened.

Mala gasped and pointed at Kai's leg. "You're bleeding!"

"Mala! Shut up!" Mariah yelled at her, seemingly unnecessarily.

"What did I do?! He is bleeding!" The young girl exclaimed.

"Mala, do you hear that?" Mariah asked. Moka was confused on the situation and so was Kai, but he didn't let it show.

"You mean that ticking noise that sounds like a-" she stopped and froze.

"Get out of the car! Now!" Mariah yelled. The four quickly ran out of the car as far away as possible, hair flying and all. Kai cringed the whole time he was running, wanting to stop the pain in his leg somehow. They were a decent way away from the car when the whole thing exploded!

They all looked back at the sparks and flying pieces. Chunks of burnt medal flew everywhere. An ominous looking gray cloud floated overhead. It's a good thing they were in a nearly deserted area or the people around would be out of luck. Mariah felt her face go cold, like the blood had all drained away.

Kai along with Mala, fell to the ground when the car exploded, all in slow motion like in the movies. Hearts pounded and coughs were heard. After about two more minutes of shock, Moka spoke up, "O.k. exactly what did you do to make someone want to kill you!?"

**Somewhere In A Dark Place**

"Sorry boss, I failed." The girl from earlier spoke, holding a phone to her ear. "That stupid pink haired girl came and saved him again. I think I seen her before." The guy that she met with earlier was in the room too. "What's her name?" the female struggled.

"I told you she was a problem." The guy said loud enough for the other person on the phone to hear. "I think they're lovers."

"Mariah! That was it! Never could stand that bitch!" he concluded. "Boss, do you want me to take her out too?" the female asked, sitting down in a black chair.

There was a pause. "No… I want her… for myself." A dark and mysterious voice came over the phone. "I'm initiating plan 3, get in position. It's time we had a little get together with all our friends…" Then evil maniacal laughter rang out in the room.

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So, how was it? Were they in character? Mariah wasn't really in the chapter, it was really to introduce you to her mom and cousin. Trust me, she'll be in the next one.

Review!


	3. Midnight

Alright, here's the next chapter! You'll get why the chapter is named what it is later.

Thanks to: **though i choose death instead of pointless pain, Molly Yokunaii, Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner, Bluestray, twin1 **(is there a twin2?), **BlueGreenGrey** and **Tory Carmichael** for reviewing! I love you guys… girls… Whatever! I love you!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own beyblade. I do own Mala and Moka.

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Curious greenish-yellow eyes looked up at the stranger that had just walked in. They watched as the stranger came and sat next to it. A low growl was heard from the owner of the eyes. It sniffed the scent of the person that had just walked in, making sure he was its victim. Sliding from under the warm cover, it was ready to attack.

"What the hell!" The stranger, also known as Kai, about to be the victim of a Black Panther, exclaimed. The animal bared its sharp, pearly whites while leaping off the bed and going to block Kai's only way out of the room. Kai noted that the window was open, but common sense would tell anybody that the panther didn't just crawl in a window on the second story of a house. It was helped.

Kai stood, not knowing if he should try to fight it or jump out of the window. The beast lowered its upper body closer to the floor, signaling that it was ready to attack. The slate haired teen slowly walked over to the window, getting as far away from the thing as possible. The panther opened its mouth and let out a horrific roar. Its tail swerved in the air in a mesmerizing way; the way a snake slithers on the ground. Its raven black fur shined in the sunlight coming from the window.

Ignoring the pain in his leg, arm and chest, he took out his beyblade and was ready to launch. The panther was on the verge of pouncing just as Kai was about to pull the ripcord on his launcher, then somebody came in.

Mariah stood with a confused expression on her face. She had only opened the door half way and it looked, to her, like Kai was about to attack her with his blade. "What are you doing?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There is a Black Panther in your room." The male teen said in a serious tone.

"What?!" Mariah walked further inside the room.

"No! Stop!" Kai yelled trying to prevent Mariah from getting mauled by the wild animal, but it was too late. It pounced on Mariah and she fell to the floor. The panther stood over Mariah and let out a loud roar. Then it lowered its head so that it was in Mariah's face. Then, Kai heard an unexpected sound. He rushed over to her to see that the panther was… licking her and she was… laughing.

He just stood there, stomped. "Help!… Hahaha… Get him… hahaha… off me… hahaha!" Mariah laughed.

Still confused and cautious, Kai reached down to pick the panther up. Just as he was about to get it, the animal looked up at him with hatred in his eyes and growled. Kai snatched his hands back. "Off boy! Get off!" Mariah commanded. The panther obeyed. "Sit." Mariah commanded again. Once again the animal obeyed.

"You have a weird and dangerous taste in pets." Kai said monotone and sat on the bed. Mariah got up and petted the animal.

"Who me?" she pointed to herself and in a millisecond realized that he could only be talking to her seeing as they are the only people in the room. "I've never seen this panther in my life, maybe in an animal book or on my laptop. It's not mine."

Then she walked past the door leading out of her room and into another one. Kai thought it was just another closet, but apparently it was a room. While she was out, the panther growled at Kai as if saying, 'You just wait until she leaves to go downstairs, I'm going to get ya!' The slate haired teen just glared at it.

The pinkette came out with a first-aid kit. She walked over to Kai and knelt down on the floor by his left leg to cover the second bullet whole in it. The smile that she had worn earlier was gone and the tension had grown between them again. Without permission, Mariah rolled up Kai's pants leg. The contact and her looking at his exposed skin made the two toned haired boy very uncomfortable.

"I can do it myself." Kai said leaning down to get the equipment.

"Stop. You wouldn't know how to do it." Mariah told him cleaning some of the blood off with one hand and waving his hand away with her other.

The golden-eyed girl was surprised that Kai's legs were hairless. Of course she had saw this earlier when she bandaged his other wound, but she was still shocked. Kai shaves his legs? Weird… Blood had run down his leg and drench his sock. His pants had dried blood and new blood on them, his shoes were pretty messed up too. Mariah's mom wanted to wash his clothes when Mariah first brought him in, but they couldn't violate him while he was unconscious.

"Let me do it." He said in a more stern voice. "I never asked for your help in the first place."

Mariah just ignored him and kept doing what she was doing. Kai sat there for a few more seconds. He couldn't take this! He was not about to be bossed by this _little _girl! Standing up, Kai decided he could still hold his own and take care of himself. The pinkette jerked out of Kai's way. She gritted her teeth, annoyed.

"Fine! If you think you can handle yourself, go right a head. Get killed! But when that guy in the mask is holding a gun to your head telling you to say your prayers, remember, Mariah Azule gave you a chance to live and you didn't take it!" she protested, but Kai still walked out of the door with an apathetic look on his face.

When he walked out, Mariah looked at the panther and nodded her head to the door, signaling him to go after Kai.

Mariah could already hear her mom and cousin protesting. She shook her head, _This guy will never learn_… _He's just like L.A._ (A/N: L.A. is a person.) Sadness covered her face for a second. After, her face displayed a bored, yet confident look as she came down the stairs. She ignored her mother and cousin's yells and startled looks due to the panther. Kai was already outside, but she remained walking slowly. She walked up the few steps there were to get to the door and put her hand on the handle, the panther at her side.

Light spilled over the threshold as the golden-eyed girl open the door. When it was fully open the animal and Mariah both could see Kai. He was out of their yard and on the sidewalk. The panther lowered its upper body to the ground again and seemed to be waiting with anticipation. Then Mariah said two words… "Get him."

The feline bulleted off and had reached Kai within a matter of seconds. Moka and Mala raced out of the house to see what had happened. "Mariah Azule! Where in the world did you get a panther!?" her mom demanded.

"It was sent to kill Kai. Somebody put it in my room. For some unknown reason, it likes me." She explained with a smile. A yell was heard from Kai as the animal sank its teeth into his arm.

"Mariah stop it!" Mala yelled tugging her older cousin's arm.

The three ran over to the scene. "That's enough Midnight!" she commanded, giving it a name. The panther stood, straddling Kai, whom was lying on the ground face up. Its greenish yellow eyes reflected hatred.

"Get this thing away from me!" the slate hair teen yelled at Mariah, trying to push Midnight away from him. The feline had to be at least 200 pounds if not more.

"I'll make him get off…if you admit that you do need my help and that you'll die with out me." She grinned at her little plan. "If I were you, I'd hurry up and say it because you're running out of blood."

_Damn it! She's right!_ Kai sneered in his mind looking at the blood running down his arm. "Don't think so highly of yourself!" he yelled stubbornly.

Mariah laughed. "You are hilarious, you know that. Here you are, struggling to hold on to life and you still want to hold up your stubborn front." She was about to say something else when her phone rang. She took out her blue Razer and put it to her ear. "Hello." She greeted.

"_What's up, Riah! It's Mariam! Guess what girl!"_

"Um… Mariam, I have to call your back in like 5 minutes. I have to take care of something."

"_Alright, but hurry up! You're going to love this! Bye!" _

"Bye." Then Mariah hung up her phone. Looking back down at Kai she tried to remember what she was about to say, but forgot.

"You're so stubborn." She sighed. "You're coming back inside. I don't care if you think you've got this situation under control because you don't. From now on, I'm calling the shots. You need my help and you know it. Got that!" then she motioned for Midnight to get from over him. The panther, reluctantly, obeyed.

"Follow me." Mariah ordered walking back into the house. Kai cringed as he got off the ground. He would have just walked in the other direction if Midnight weren't following close behind him.

Mala shut the door when they all were inside. Kai sat on the couch and glared at Mariah, but she didn't care, she just glared back. Before they knew it, they were having a glaring contest. Moka, Mala and Midnight (A/N: Kai's such an odd ball, he's the only 'K'.) looked back and forward at the two. The slate hair teen narrowed his eyes. The golden-eyed girl made her eyes turn to slits.

"Midnight…" Mariah called. The panther went to her. "Watch him." She didn't break eye contact with Kai for a few more moments, then she disappeared up stairs. Kai growled and continued glaring, but at the panther now.

"It's o.k. Kai!" Mala hopped up on the sofa Kai was sitting on. "She's only doing what she's doing because she _loves_ you." Mala's already wide grin grew even wider. "And admit it. You love her too. That's why you stayed."

Kai looked at the girl indifferently. "No, I stayed because your crazy, persistent cousin and her little pet kitten wouldn't let me leave. If you thought any differently, then you're sadly mistaken." He said in his cool Kai way.

"Are you kidding!? We actually get to go!" They heard Mariah's voice as she was coming down stairs. When she came into view they saw that she was carrying a first-aid kit in one hand and had her phone up to her ear in the other. "I could really use some R&R. Mr. D is off the chain! I can't believe he's doing this!"

The pinkette sat the equipment down and sat beside Kai's leg like before. "Hold on Mariam." She put the phone away from her mouth and _warned_, "Don't move. I don't want to do this just as much as you don't want to. My mom can't because she has no idea of how to take bullets out and hates the sight of blood." Moka rolled her eyes at this and went into the kitchen to make something to eat.

Mariah hooked her earpiece up to the phone and put it in her ear. "O.k. I'm back."

"_So, yeah, Mr. D is giving us an all expenses paid vacation to Hawaii!"_

"Well, all that sounds cool, but where do we meet? I mean, the you're way in London, The All-stars are in America, The White Tigers are in China… I could go on, but the point is we're all in different parts of the world." After cleaning Kai's leg and putting alcohol on it, she got the tweezers and carefully pulled the bullet out of Kai's leg. He bit his tongue, but didn't show any sign of pain.

The bullet made a 'ping' sound when she put it in a metal tray. Kai just sat with his arms crossed, looking out of the window. The sun was almost set.

"_That's where you get lucky. We're all meeting in Moscow, Russia on Sunday!"_

"Sunday! That only leaves me four days to pack!"

"_Yeah, me too. I was so excited I didn't even think about that." Mariam told her. "Oh, and speaking of exciting things, how's Mr. Sunshine doing." She joked with a giggle._

Mariah looked up at Kai. "Him," she said to get his attention… it worked. He looked at her, well… more like glared. "Oh, he's as happy and cheerful as ever. He's soooooooooooooooooooo wonderful. I just love him." Mariah joked back. Kai just rolled his eyes and went back to staring out of the window.

Both girls laughed. "_He's in the room. Isn't he?" Mariam managed to say. "I guess I'll see you when I get to Russia."_

"Same, later." Then Mariah hung up, that was when both Kai and Mariah noticed Mala in the room.

"Ah ha!" her outburst startled them both. "You admitted it! You said you loved Kai!" She jumped off the sofa.

"When did I say that?" the pinkette asked, forgetting about the conversation she just had with Mariam.

"Remember you said, and I quote: "Oh, he's as happy and cheerful as ever. He's soooooooooooooooooooo wonderful. I just **love** him." The raven-haired girl exclaimed putting emphasis on the word 'love' while doing a expression of Mariah.

"Mala, that was called a joke. No, actually it was called sarcasm. I was just saying all that stuff because it wasn't true." Mariah finished wrapping Kai's leg and was now moving to his arm.

"Suuuuure, whatever you say." Mala said, not even knowing what sarcasm was or that she had just used it.

"See, you just used sarcasm." Mariah said not taking her eyes off of what she was doing.

"Yeah, whatever. I don't know anything about this sarcasm stuff, but I do know… Kai and Mariah are in love, Kai and Mariah are in love!" she sang the last part. "Kai and Mariah sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" she sang walking into the kitchen to see what that good smell was.

"I can't believe I actually wished for a little sister for my 7th birth day. I sure wish I could take it back now. Now I get what people mean when they say 'be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.'" Mariah said talking to Kai, but at the same time not talking to him.

"I thought she was your cousin." Mariah was surprised he actually listened and that he responded.

"She's not my cousin or my sister. Her mom didn't know how to raise a child, she was too young. I have no clue why she gave Mala to my mom. Mama had me when she was just 15 years old. My dad was 17. Their love was forbidden because my mom is a quarter Puerto-Rican and three quarters Black." Mariah had no clue why she was telling Kai this, but it just seemed easy to talk to him, mainly because she knew he didn't care what happen in her life.

"When my mom and dad got divorced, they both had something to argue about. Mom told my dad off about how she had to run away from home and go through labor twice at a young age by herself. My dad argued about how he had disgraced his village by letting an outside bare his children. He was kick out." Mariah bit her tongue and tried to fight the tears.

"The whole fight started because of me." That's when a tear fell. "I wanted to leave China because something terrible happened to me there. Mama would do anything for me and wanted to leave too. Daddy never liked change and didn't want to leave." The tears were now flowing freely. She had just finished wrapping the wound on Kai's arm that Midnight made when he bit him.

"Mama got frustrated and went up stairs. Daddy went to me and called me a little bitch." She could barely finish her sentence because of the choking tears. "He slapped me." Now she was crying uncontrollably. Midnight got up and walked over to cuddle Mariah. After a few moments of listening to Mariah cry, Kai finally stood.

"Suck it up." Mariah looked up at him, shocked. "So many people have it worse off than you. A lot of kids have never been loved by anyone, never known their mom who just happened to get knocked up on night by their piece of shit dad whom they've never seen before because he's out with other chicks and never even knew they existed. Some kids don't know where they came from, who or what that are. For all they know when they go to a store they could have passed 5 of their sisters and brothers and not even know it. If you think your life is bad, I dare you to compare it to mine and then tell me what you think of it." He said harshly before going upstairs.

Mariah just watched as he got up. Was that really his life or was it just an example of others? Did he really just tell Mariah something about his past? Guess they're both in the same book, Kai's just a chapter ahead...

* * *

Yeah, the ending was kind of sad. Did I keep them in character? I think Kai went out just a little. This chapter is over 3,000 words!

Anyways, I can't wait for the next chapter because that's when more people will come in and you'll get closer to knowing who's the killer! Oh my Bob I can't wait! But I have too because you have to review first!

Review!


	4. Karma

Yay! New reviewers! How I loveth thee… eth. Thanks to: **Molly Yokunaii**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **Bluestray**, **Tory Carmichael**, **CrisscrossAnime**, **BeMyfRIeND4eVA** and **DancerInTheDark101**.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. I do own Moka and Mala.

* * *

It was about one in the morning. Crimson eyes peered in the dark reflecting a serious and alert expression. The night was as still and peaceful as the dark blue sky. The moon bathe the bed of a certain slate haired teen with its light, casting a shadow over the rest of the room. An aura of anticipation swam around the house. Tomorrow they left for Hawaii. _Tomorrow…_ It would hold new and perhaps more dangerous things, they knew, but were willing to wake up the next morning and face it.

A sigh escaped from the caramel lips of the teen as he stared up at the ceiling as if it would make tomorrow come faster. His shirtless chest covered with white bandages rose up and down rhythmically. The thought that he was lying in someone else's room was still fresh in his mind, not letting him rest. Or maybe it was because a Black Panther could come into the room and attack him at anytime. It could have also been the fact that he didn't have pants on. Mariah demanded that he let her wash them. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to sleep tonight and that was for sure.

Suddenly, the quietness of the night was broken by a vibrating noise. He looked around in search of where it was coming from. The floor… Kai picked his cell phone up off the floor and read the caller id: Unknown.

Half of him was telling him to leave it, but the other half was telling him to answer. It was challenging him in a way, saying that if he didn't pick up he was automatically label: _scared_. No self-respecting male likes having his bravery questioned, so naturally he pressed the talk button…

Dial tone… The person had hung up. Instead of calling back, the two toned haired boy just waited, convinced that if the person wanted to talk to him badly enough they'd call back. Seconds turned into minutes and with every tick of the clock the chances of the person calling back melted.

Crimson eyes drifted up to the digital clock on top of the t.v. It flashed: 2:05 A.M. in bright red. Thirty minutes had past and still nothing. The howl of the wind could be heard, but Kai's ears had picked up something more than wind. It was another sound. Like someone playing under a blanket or on a carpet. Looking to the window, he felt someone gaze on him and quickly turned to the door just to see someone's shadow move along the hallway wall. Someone was there… right?

The want to go and investigate arose in him. He sat up to get out of bed, but was struck with fear when he felt his cell phone vibrate again on his leg. Sucking in a sharp breath his heart beat started to get normal again as he realized it was just his phone. He looked at the caller id: Unknown. Then he flipped the phone up and pressed talk.

"What." He answered in a low cold voice. All Kai could hear was the sound of someone's breath. He glanced around the room seeing if anyone was there.

"I'm glad you decided to pick up this time Kai." Came a chilling voice. Chilling not creepy; therefore it wasn't Boris. "It's a shame you didn't get to talk to your brother in his last moments. Two down, you to go." An annoying laughter rang out over the phone.

"What brother?" Kai snarled.

"Poor little Kai, so scared and defenseless. I don't why you think staying in a pink-haired little girl's house is going to save you. Oh, but maybe you know it won't save you, maybe it's… _love_. You Hawatari's with your precious Mariah." The person paused to laugh again. Kai clenched his teeth with anger.

"What are you talking about?" he growled at the person on the line, face reddening with every second.

"I'm so sorry that I made you mad, but to make it up to you I sent up a present. In order to get this present though, you'll have to solve my riddle." Kai could practically see the satisfied and confident smirk playing on the person's face. "What's small, but you can see it and many a time you wish _you_ could be it?" after that Kai heard the dial tone.

_What was that crazy maniac talking about? What did he mean when he said 'You Hawatari'__**s **__and your precious Mariah?' And that stupid riddle. I don't wish to be anything, but me!_ If the killer only wanted to play with Kai's mind and get him thinking, he sure succeeded in that. The slate haired teen's mind was spinning with possible answers, but none were for sure and it pissed Kai off. _And what brother? I have no brother! The closest person I have to a brother is Tal- _Suddenly, Kai's face grew pale. Fear struck him right in the place he was most sensitive and if striking him wasn't enough, it toyed with his mind.

The thought of the only person that had ever, and possibly, will ever care about him being taken away was unbearable. (A/N: Bare in mind that Kai nor Tala is gay.) As much as Kai didn't wanted it and much as he tried not to become too attached to the redhead, he had. They were pretty much in the same boat. Both lost, both had been mercilessly toyed with by Boris, both had nobody to trust. The slate haired teen _despised_ that feeling with great intensity. That feeling that declared him human when all others failed. That feeling that made him weak and useless to the world as far as his eyes could see. The feeling that made him care about others even when he didn't want too.

Actually, that feeling was more than one: Concern, fear and the one he hated most… weakness…

He was able to shut everyone else totally out of his mind and thoughts, but not Tala and it constantly haunted him. Maybe it was good that he was dead. Maybe that's what Kai wanted. Now, he had no more unwanted emotions playing with his head, making him sick to his stomach. No one to ever refer to him as a _best friend_. No one to have to look after and they look after you, but was that such a bad thing?

Kai didn't know and he didn't care... or at least he tried not to. Tala was dead and there was nothing he could do about it, he resolved. Finally, he decided to shut his brain down and get some rest, not wanting to think any longer. But as the male slept his conscience and emotions tore him up inside because he knew that deep down, he didn't want Tala to die, he was his guardian, his comforter… his best friend. And for the first time in a long time… Kai Hiwatari cried, letting all of his feelings spill out.

That night Kai probably pondered everything about the situation possible… except for the fact that what if the killer wasn't even referring to Tala… but he was asleep now, fed up with thinking. Goodnight Kai.

**Meanwhile**

A certain pink haired girl had just got a call from… lo and behold… Voltaire. (Readers: WTF!) She sat on the front room sofa waiting, for what exactly, she didn't even know. That's why she had something shiny, metal and in the shape of an 'L' in her left hand. (A/N: For all you slow people out there, it's a gun.) Somebody gave it to her for protection a little while back, she's found it handy in some situation. No, she did not kill any body, just protected herself.

She sighed as she remembered all the things that happened to her a little while before she came to Russia; her parents' divorce, she was in a shooting, L.A… (A/N: Not the city.)

_L.A…_ at the thought of his name a single, crystal tear fell from her eye. _I miss you so much. Why'd you leave me?_ That was a question that would never be answered. Not by him anyway. Part of her wanted to break down and cry, the other part said she couldn't because the killer could come at anytime and she wouldn't be prepared, and it just hurt too much. _If you can't tell me that, then tell me why you led Kai to me. I don't want to have to deal with another death in my life. Why me…_

She closed the gun in both of her hands, pointing it to the ceiling, resting her chin on her hands and her elbows on her legs. Then she saw a black shadow coming down stairs, but soon realized it was just Midnight.

Purring, he walked up to her and gracefully jumped on the sofa, not making a sound. "Midnight… do you know why L.A. left me?" as a reply, the panther rubbed his head on Mariah's neck as if to say, 'Everything's going to be alright.', purring softly all the while.

Mariah sighed and petted Midnight's silky soft black fur and laid her head on his head. The soothing sound of the panther's purring was gently lulling the pinkette to sleep. Her eyelids began to get heavy and were threatening to drop, but somebody knocking on the door woke her back up.

Drowsily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes when another knock sounded. After forcing herself to get up, she walked to the door and opened it revealing…(A/N: I don't think I should tell ya'll who it is. Should I?)…

… Bryan standing there with an emotionless look on his face. Mariah looked and was shocked to find him standing there at first, but all her previous thoughts faded away when she noticed a little girl in his arms. Her golden eyes looked them over with curiosity.

"Is Kai here?" was the only thing the Russian said.

"Alive and sleeping." She answered, not really knowing if her company was really sleeping. Then without warning the Russian walked into her house. Midnight jumped off the sofa in defense mode, growling. Bryan simply gave the panther and apathetic look, walked right by it and sat the sleeping girl down on the sofa. Mariah just stared at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

Then, he silently walked over to Mariah, handed her a note and walked back out the door, leaving a very puzzled pinkette. After closing the door, she opened the note and began to read it. As her eyes flashed down to the name on the bottom it only pushed her curiosity further. It read:

_Dear Mariah and whom ever this may concern,_

_I have recently heard from a very reliable source, that you have been keeping my grandson at your residence where I'm sure he's safe and sound. Please continue to watch him. As for the girl, I leave her in your care as well. I'm sure she will not be much of a bother, but anyone who can keep Kai in a house on bed-rest can do close to anything. If my deepest thanks do not interest you, maybe two billion dollars (A/N: Rubles, yen, whatever just know that it will make her rich!) is more your language. I will give it to you after Kai and Karma, the girl, are safe and the maniac responsible is six feet under. My men are already on it, but please keep them safe._

_Thank you,_

Voltaire

Mariah finished reading the note aloud to her mom and Mala. It was now morning and all Mariah's bags were packed and ready to go. Fixing breakfast, Moka was beginning to have second thoughts about this trip.

"Kitten, are you sure you want to do this?" Moka said as she stirred the grits in the pot up when they were beginning to boil. "I mean, how can you watch Kai and the girl. How old is she, five?! Mariah you're only fifteen! You can't handle this." She yelled with eyes full of worry. This was exactly what Mariah was afraid of. Her mom was not going to let her go.

"Mama, I have to do this. I want to go on the vacation, I deserve it." She argued.

"It's not the trip I'm scared about. It's you being on a boat, plane or however you're getting there with a guy that has a hit out on him!"

"Mama, this is my vacation, too! Even if I wasn't taking care of him, I couldn't stop him from coming." Tears began to dwell in her eyes. "Please, mama. I'm really determined to do this!"

Uh oh, she used the 'D' word. Moka knew there was no stopping her now. Mariah was headstrong and when she set her mind on something, she wasn't leaving until it was finished.

"Why exactly do you want to help Kai? You said it yourself that you didn't like him. He stole Galux from you." her mother pleaded softly.

"I'm not doing this for me and I'm certainly not doing this for him. I feel… I think… what if L.A. sent him to me. To protect him." Mariah said softly back. Moka sighed, knowing that Mariah was still sensitive on this subject. As she silently walked over to put the plates with grits, eggs and sausages on the table she said, "How long are you staying?"

When she heard that, Mariah leapt out of her seat and hugged her mom with a gigantic smile on her face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" then she gave her mom a kiss. "You're going to be so proud of me."

"Yeah well, just be careful." As Mariah backed away Moka asked, "And where is Kai? Did you give him back his pants?"

"No, those things were hopeless. They had so many tears and rips in them, it looked like they had got into a fight with Midnight and lost." She laughed.

"So, what is he wearing?" Moka's answer had just came in the door.

Kai walked in wearing baggy jean shorts, a blue jersey with yellow numbers and outlines and a look that said, 'I'm going to kill you.' His arms were bare, showing off his well-defined muscles.

"Wow! Kai, you look like a real gangsta!" Mala decided to speak, her sleep finally wearing off. "All that's missing now is the do-rag and the grill!"

The slate haired teen just sat down on the opposite side of Mariah and glared at his fork. After realizing that someone was watching him, he looked up to find Mariah smiling at him. He glared back, "What are you smiling for?"

The pinkette shrugged, "You are just so easy to agitate." She continued smiling at the boy sitting in front of her glaring. Mala was, all the while, enjoying the scene grinning with wide and interested eyes, looking back and forward at the two.

They had been smiling and glaring for about thirty seconds when Mala yelled… that's all, she just yelled. Everybody looked at her startled. "There's a girl at the door!" They all turned their heads to the door and sure enough there was a little girl with blue hair and dark purple eyes standing there with a teddy bear that was actually a little book bag. There was a zipper on its stomach.

Mariah slowly stepped out of her seat and went to the girl. "Hi, are you Karma?" Mariah bent down to her eye level. Karma just stared at her with those innocent eyes of hers, both arms tightly clinging to her teddy.

The girl said something in a low voice that Mariah didn't quite get, but Kai got it. "Where did she come from?" he asked.

As soon as he said that Karma looked to him. Her eyes brightened as she dropped her teddy bear and ran over to him yelling, "Kai!"

"Voltaire wants me to watch her." Mariah said turning around still wondering why Voltaire would want her to protect a little girl and Kai. She was sure Kai was wondering the same. "Do you know her?"

"No, I've never seen her in my life." He grunted as the 3-years-old climbed onto his lap.

"Apparently she's seen you before." Moka spoke putting the last of the plates on the table. "Hurry up and eat. The limo will be here shortly." Kai was having a pretty hard time eating, seeing as there was a little girl sitting on his lap reaching for food on another plate as soon as he reached for his. After many failed attempts of finding a better way to eat he was relieved when he heard a horn from outside.

"That's them!" Moka smiled. "Mariah, promise me you'll be careful." She said when her daughter got up.

"I promise." She went and hugged and kissed her mom. "I love you."

"Kai, you too." Kai looked at her with slight confusion in his eyes. "Promise me."

After a couple of seconds, he said, "I… promise." He wasn't that use to anyone caring if got killed or not. Then they walked into the front room to get Mariah's stuff. Kai didn't have anything. He had just realized that he was about to go on a trip and had nothing to wear, but soon resolved that he would go get something from the nearest mall. Karma was still following him around and by following him around I mean standing beside him and watching him stand.

The reason he didn't walk outside with the other's is because he knew he would be all alone. Not literally, but mentally. The only people that were out there were preps, loud mouths, weirdoes, computers nerds, idiots and Mariah… to him. Why was he even going? He would just end up feeling lonelier than usual.

Mariah had just taken her last bag out to the car and was already coming back inside the house one more time… or at least that's what Kai thought, but he was shocked to see Tala walking in through the door!

"What are you doing here?" he asked, shocked. That's when Karma got up and ran over to Tala yelling, "Tala!" (Lady J: What is with her yelling peoples names?)

"I could ask you the same question." Tala said mono toned.

"You're suppose to be dead!" Kai yelled.

"Well, that's a good way to greet your best friend." For once, Kai was happy to be called that, so happy that he actually almost smiled. He would never take him and Tala's friendship for granted again because truth was, he was the only person that knew what he went through and could actually understand.

Once Mariah walked back in the door with Ming-Ming and Mariam, the guys started talking in Russian. Tala was just telling Kai about how everybody wasn't going to be in the limo for a while because Tyson had just farted. Mariah glared at them, wishing she had taken up a class in that language. Then Tala asked Karma_, "So, are they treating you right here?"_ in Russian. The girl shook her head 'yes'.

Mariah mouth hung, "Wait, she can understand you?!"

"Yeah, she _is _Russian." Tala said in a duh-ish tone like Mariah should have known that. It had just dawned on Kai that Karma and Tala knew each other. He quickly resolved that since both of them knew Voltaire, they must have seen each other a couple of times.

The pinkette squealed with joy and ran over to Karma. "Hello, my little translator! Finally, someone who can tell me what these people are saying!" she smiled picking her up.

Kai and Tala just smirked at each other. "I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but there's just one little problem in your plan." Kai said coolly.

"What?" Mariah challenged.

"She doesn't understand what _you're _saying."

Mariah looked back at the girl's confused expression and hung her head with a defeated look on her look. "This is never going to end!"

* * *

Finally! I've been working on this chapter for the longest. It's so long yet almost nothing happened. Don't worry, more people will definitely be in the next one. Yay, Tala's not dead! I know some people would have killed me for that.

Also, did the last part of the chapter seem rushed? I hope not, and even if it was I hope you enjoyed it anyway.


	5. Oh Brother!

Thanks to: **Molly Yokunaii**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **Bluestray**, **Tory Carmichael**, **CrisscrossAnime**, **BeMyfRIeND4eVA** and **dewrism56** for reviewing!

For some strange reason, even when I have new reviewers I've been having 7 reviews in a row since chapter 2. It's kind of cool!

Warning!: Almost at the end of the chapter there is some death and blood shed. A character dies, but you guys don't know them so you probably wouldn't care.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade.

* * *

Kai, Tala and Karma sat in the limo alone after Kai had finished telling Tala about the call he got last night. The redhead, even if he didn't say it, had been worried about his best friend and wished that he didn't just disappear the way he did. Now, he was even more worried since the killer was now getting bold and actually calling Kai's phone. But, Tala stayed quiet. 

Kai stared out of the window at the teens outside. He was excepting a lot of people to be coming on the trip, but only Tyson, Hilary, Ming-Ming, Julia, Mariam, Max, Ray, Kenny, Emily, Salima, Tala and two guys that he didn't know, were in the limo that came. Looking outside at Mala, he had just realized who she reminded him of… Ray. At the moment, the raven-haired boy was holding her, both smiling happily. They looked just alike. Kai wondered if they were sister and brother. He resolved that he would ask Mariah when she came in…

Then he made a face at his thought, _Mariah, why can't I just ask Ray himself. We're cool. From now on, I don't need Mariah and I certainly don't want to be around her._

"What are you thinking about?" Tala asked with a funny expression, upon seeing the face Kai made.

The slate haired teen simply shook his head, not looking at the redhead sitting beside him. Close to him, on the other side was Karma. Kai looked down at the girl and realized that when the sun hit her eyes at a certain angle, you could see that her eyes weren't dark purple, but crimson. Strangely, he found this… cute. Wow, Kai never thought that word would mold itself into his vocabulary.

"So, who is she?" the slate haired teen, for the first time while they were in the limo, looked at Tala.

"Don't know. She and three other guys came to Biovolt. See those guy right there?" Tala said pointing out of the window at two guys talking to each other. One was very well built and had black hair, brown eyes and light brown skin, he looked mixed. The other had brown hair and red looking eyes that seemed to see right through you.

"Those are the guys. Two of them anyway. I haven't seen the other for a week now." Tala said like it was a mystery or something. "The black haired one is mixed; Russian and Black and also very touchy about that. He got kick out of **all** the schools in Moscow and Khimki for fighting. People always pick on him and call him a zebra. We call him L.K., he won't tell us his real name." Kai looked at Tala with an expression that asked, 'And you know this, how?' Tala smirked. "You just gotta get to know him. He's cool."

"Now, the other one. I don't know too much about him except that he's Russian and Porto Rican. Like L.K., he won't tell us his real name. He just said to call him L.D. Oh, and he is very much known for being a huge flirt and woman stealer, so watch out."

"Hm…" was all Kai said watching as Moka picked a crying Mala up. Everybody was getting ready to get in the limos and he guessed Mala didn't want Ray and Mariah to leave. "They're coming in."

Both male Russians then adjusted themselves in their seats and put on their emotionless mask, preparing for a long and annoying ride. Kai looked out of the window to see Midnight glaring at him, he just smirked, happy at the fact that the panther would not be joining them.

Within a few minutes everybody had loaded in their limo and was getting ready to take off. Two limos had came to pick them up. The one Kai was in held Mariah, Ming-Ming, Karma Salima, Ray, Tala and himself. The rest were in the other. Kai and Tala braced themselves for a long boring ride full of "girl talk", Karma calling him and Tala's name every three seconds and possible Salima and Ray making out, but anything was better than Tyson they supposed.

"Karma is such a cutie!" Ming-Ming squealed, looking over at the little girl. "How old is she?" the turquoise haired girl asked. (A/N: Is that the color of Ming-Ming's hair?)

"I don't know, probably three or just turning four." Mariah responded, looking down at the little girl beside her whom was cutely coping Kai and Tala; folding her arms and making a mean looking face.

"She's so cute!" Mariam squealed as they felt the limo pull off. "I wonder why her mother named her Karma."

"Beats me." Mariah shrugged. "Sometimes, I wish I could go back to being a child." She smiled.

That triggered a thought in Kai's mind. He thought about what the killer said to him last night: "What's small, but you can see it and many a time you wish _you_ could be it?" A child. Often, Kai would find himself wishing he could be a child all over again and have a normal life.

"_Tala,"_ Kai called and began to talk in Russian. _"I just figured out the riddle."_ Kai continued, ignoring Mariah rolling her eyes and complaining that she couldn't speak Russian.

"What is it?" 

"_A child. The killer didn't say she was the "present", though. He said she had it."_

"_But where?"_ Tala asked looking over to Karma then looking down at the teddy bear book bag she had.

"_Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_ Kai was apparently looking at the same thing Tala was looking at.

"_All the time."_

Then Kai turned to Karma. _"Hey, can I see your bear?"_ Kai asked in a nice voice. The little girl looked at her bear that was sitting on her lap, then back at Kai and slowly shook her head 'no'. _"Please, I'll give it right back."_

Once again Karma shook her head 'no' and put her tiny arms protectively around the bear. Then Kai turned back to Tala and said, _"Do you see why I hate children?"_

"What Kai, are you trying to steal the poor girl's bear?" Mariah, whom had been looking at Kai very weirdly, finally spoke up. Then Kai's happy expression melted into a glare and he grabbed the arm of the bear and pulled it.

"What is wrong with you?" Mariah started to help Karma pull the bear back. Now, all the girls in the limo were yelling at Kai, including Salima.

The pinkette, now frustrated with this little game of tug-of-war, slapped Kai in the arm on the exact spot the he had gotten shot.

"Ou!" he yelled finally letting go. Mariah picked up the crying Karma and put the girl in her lap.

"You've got some nerve Kai Hiwatari! Taking a teddy bear from a defenseless little girl!" Salima shouted getting agreeing 'yeah's from the other girls.

"I need that bear. It won't even take long!" Kai said reaching for it again, earning him another pop on the arm from Mariah.

"Next time it'll be your leg!" she threatened petting the Karma's head, which was resting on her chest.

Now, it was Tala's turn. "We need the bear, just for a second. There's something in there that has to do with Kai." He explained hoping they wouldn't have to tell the girls and Ray about the phone call.

"Something in the bear that Kai needs?" Mariah almost didn't believe him, but then again Kai wasn't that heartless. He wouldn't a teddy bear, of all the things, from a little girl. Mariah slowly lifted the bear from Karma's hands. No fuss was made.

"_Now that's just wrong."_ Tala said referring to how they had even asked politely for the stuffed animal and all Mariah had to do was take it. They were all watching as Mariah lowly unzipped the bear.

"Hm… there is something in here." She reached her hand in. Kai and Tala both had 'I told you so' looks on their faces. "But I highly doubt Kai would want crayon." She said pulling out a yellow crayon. Then she zipped it back up and gave the animal back to Karma.

"But-" Kai hated looking stupid, even if it were just him and Tala there. He just folded his arms and looked out of the window on the opposite side of the limousine.

"Anything else you boys want to warn us about?" Mariam asked glaring at the two. Only the engine of the car could be heard for a while.

10 minutes of silence had past before Tala said, "Did Karma have a book bag with her?"

"Oh my gosh! Not this again." Mariah slapped her forehead.

"Please, just look. We won't even touch the stupid thing." Tala could feel his temper rising, but remained calm.

After rolling her eyes, Mariah said, "Mariam can you please get that blue bag right there." She pointed to a small blue bag lying beside her feet. Mariah couldn't get it due to Karma sleeping in her arms.

"Yeah." The bluenette leaned down and got the bag. Unzipping it she started to pull out some things. "Hair brush, shirt, pants, panties," at that word Ray and Tala, immaturely, almost laughed, but succeeded in holding it in. "…shoes and…" Mariam stopped.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

The bluenette pulled out a DVD kept in a DVD case with a clear cover and on the cover it said: To Kai.

"Told you." Tala just couldn't resist.

"O.k. now give it to me." The slate haired teen demanded holding out his hand. Mariam was about to hand it over when Mariah grabbed it from her.

"How did you know this was in there?" Mariah held it up with the hand that was away from Kai.

"I believe that is my business." He smoothly said back.

"Well, I guess you don't want it then." She smirked.

"Mariah, this isn't a game! Give me the damn DVD!"

"First of all you better watch your language! And second, you better answer me! How did you know the DVD was in the book bag!?" she questioned again getting louder. "Mariam please hold Karma." She pasted the sleeping girl to her friend, knowing that her and Kai's conversation was about to blow up.

"I don't have to tell you anything!"

"Oh don't you!? I saved your life three times from this killer person and I know he sent you this! I think I have the right to know!"

"Kai, just tell her. She's giving me a headache." Tala said rubbing his temples. Kai looked at Tala, whom looked like he was having a massive headache. He then started to think that Tala wasn't taking the medicine his psychiatrist had prescribed him to. Resolving that he would take it up with the redhead later, he sighed and folded his arms.

"The killer called me last night." This only seemed to make the pinkette madder.

"And you're just now telling me this! L.A., you have too many secrets! I need to know these things!" she screamed, not realizing what she had just said.

"My name is Kai." The two toned haired boy said mono toned.

"I said Kai."

"You said L.A." Mariah turned her head from him. "Who's L.A.?" Then she tossed the DVD in his lap. He knew it was to avoid the conversation which made Kai want to know who he was even more. For some reason he felt angry, really angry that Mariah had called him another guy's name, but didn't let it show.

"Here." Ming-Ming said, passing Kai her portable DVD player. Kai stared at Mariah, whom wasn't looking at him, for a few more seconds before taking it. He put the DVD in and pressed play.

**On Tape**

At first everything was dark and you could only hear the sound of someone moving on the floor and trying to yell, but some kind of cloth was preventing them from doing so. Then the lights flicked on revealing a teenaged boy soaked in blood with torn cloths squirming on the floor.

"Ah…" an unseen person sighed in joy. "I never get tired of this scene. I'm so glad I get to see it one more time after this."

The guy that was squirming on the floor had frightened gray eyes. They stared at the camera in fear, but at the same time seemed like he was trying to warn someone.

"See how nice I am, Kai. I let you see your brother in his last moments.

**Off Tape**

"Kai," Tala gasped. "That's him!" Kai looked at Tala. "That's the other guy that came to Biovolt. The one that disappeared." They both looked back at the tape.

**On Tape**

"Don't worry, I showed him a picture of you. That father of ours sure did get around, didn't he?" then the person started to laugh. "Too bad you didn't get to see L.A.'s final moments, but Mariah can tell you all about that. I just know she's watching. Hey, Kitten. Isn't that what L.A. use to call you." He chuckled. "Kitten, cute."

"It's about to be two down, Kai, and you to go." Then the screen went black.

**Off Tape**

Kai looked to Mariah to see tears streaming down her face. He all of a sudden felt bad for being angry when she called him L.A. He realized that he probably just reminded her of him and that's why she did it. He also felt bad about saying he didn't need her and for giving her a hard time when all she was trying to do was keeping him from ending up like L.A. He couldn't believe how heartless he had been.

"Kai." Tala called. Kai looked Tala whom appeared to be looking back at the screen.

**On Tape**

The camera appeared to be lying sideways on the ground. The first thing they saw was a bloody face. "Mariah,… I don't—I don't have much time. My father --cough, cough-- he had –cough--," blood was oozing from his mouth making it clear that he was going to die by drowning in his own blood. "6 kids. My father -cough- 6 children. Please, -cough- save my brothers. Two Kai's- Trust no one." Then he smiled… through all his pain, he managed to smile. It was that smile that let Mariah know that he knew she wouldn't let him down.

"Hey, he has the camera!" someone from behind the camera ran up and cut it off.

**End Tape**

"L.J." Mariah sobbed on Mariam's arm. The whole room was quiet except for Mariah's crying. It went on like this for an hour and a half. Everyone was still trying to register in what they saw.

Mariah had long stopped crying, but was now pretty shaken up about the whole thing. She was now writing something down on a piece of paper. Kai looked over and saw that it was a list of the names of the people that were in the limousines. Karma had woken up, but noticed that nobody was in a good mood and stayed quiet.

Then Mariah looked up with a serious expression on her face. All eyes were on her. After looking around she said, "I hope all have no figured out that we are not going to Hawaii. Also, I hope you have figure out that we have not moved for 15 minutes straight. Lastly, I hope you've already figured out that the killers are on one of these limos." Everybody looked at each other. Some were shocked, others looked scared.

Then she turned to Kai, "Kai, if you were wondering, no, I did not know L.A. nor L.J. were your brothers. I simply thought that I should not let you suffer the same fate they did. I saw you being shot and shot at and I saved you. Sometimes irony isn't such a bad thing." She said with a light smile before making her way to the limo door. Mariam and Ming-Ming followed once she was out, then the rest. They appeared to be deserted in the middle of a lush, green forest.

The boys weren't all the way out yet, but they sure did start to rush when they heard the girls screaming.

"What?!" Ray demanded standing at the front of the vehicle with Salima. They looked up at the windshield to see the driver with a knife through his chest... dead.

"You guys!" Tala said coming from around the other side of the limo. "Nobody is inside of the other limo."

* * *

O.k. that chapter was scary. I have a question though, should I put character death in her and start killing off different people or not? Of course Kai, Mariah, Tala and Ray will not die. 

And you might be thinking L.K. and L.D. did it! But I wouldn't think so fast if I were you. Try and figure out the motive too! Later!

Please Review!


	6. Lost?

Thanks to: **Molly Yokunaii**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **Bluestray**, and **BeMyfRIeND4eVA** for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade.

* * *

Mariah sat, staring bleakly at the flashing screen of the DVD player, at the bottom of a tree with her knees pulled up to her chest. The list of names she had written earlier sat beside her with a rock placed in the middle of it to keep it from blowing away. No one dared speak to her for now. They couldn't look into those cold, empty eyes of hers just yet. They were so cold they appeared to be getting darker; going from gold to black. Her pink hair was back in a tight ponytail. 

The spot they picked to stay in could be best described as a lush, green meadow set under and hovering canopy. The bright flowers and moss-less trees, however, did not brighten the moods of these troubled teens. Kai and Tala sat on the opposite side of the meadow from Mariah. Neither of them knew what to make of this seemingly hopeless situation. They had no idea where they were, they didn't know how they were going to get back home, or where ever, and they had just witness Kai's brother's murder.

"This day just keeps getting better." Tala mumbled sarcastically under his breath with a frown. He and Kai mirrored each other; arms crossed firmly over their well-defined muscular chests allowed to be shown off by the tight, black tank tops they wore, their legs, covered by the identical baggy black pants Tala packed for them before he left Biovolt, were straight out in front of them. Both of them appeared to be silent and motionless, but Mariah noticed their lips moving, so quickly the sentence seemed to be over in a second. They didn't talked in Russian for Mariah's sake. They dared not agitate her any further.

"Where did the others go?" Kai asked swiftly getting every word out just right; so low only Tala could hear and so fast that even if someone did hear him, they wouldn't be able to understand. It was something they liked to do when they were little so no one would be able to hear or understand their unwritten plan to escape Biovolt. It didn't work of course…

"Mariam and Ming-Ming went to go find the others. Ray and Salima have their own agenda." Tala informed rolling his eyes. "Amazing how they can still enjoy a romantic day when a killer could be right around the next tree they pass." The sentence buzzed to Kai's ears. After it was out of Tala's mouth, he noticed something was missing. Something important.

"Where's the kid?" he asked glancing around the quiet little meadow. Without discussion, they both stood to their feet causing Mariah to look up confused. "Where's Karma?" he asked loud enough for anyone with in six foot radius to hear.

Mariah obviously didn't notice she was missing either, for the neko-jin was now on her feet. "I was so caught up in this mystery I didn't notice she had left my side." She gasped.

"We have to go look for her. Split up, Tala you go-"

"No! We're not about to split up in an unfamiliar forest with a killer on the loose! Are you crazy!?" the pinkette cut Kai off.

"We'll find her quicker." The slate haired teen defended his decision. "For all we know the killer could have her."

"That's why we have to stay together, so we can fight him off."

"You're right." Kai un-expectantly agreed, taking Mariah completely by surprise. She looked at him in disbelief. He, however, kept his superior and in control expression on. "Tala, you go with Mariah and keep her safe. I'll go this way." And before Mariah could even get the words out to stop him, he was out of the meadow, leaving Tala and Mariah alone.

They stood in the meadow, not exchanging looks or words, trying to register what had just happened… well Mariah was anyway. She had just noticed that, in so many words, Kai had just call her weak! Insinuating that she couldn't handle the murderer alone. After seeing the enraged look on her face, Tala knew she was now caught up.

"Ready?" he asked calmly with a wide grin, obviously amused by how easy it was for Kai to get her angry.

This also took Mariah by surprise, Tala never smiled. Even more surprising, he was smiling… at her! That's when she noticed they were completely alone in a vast forest. There was no use fighting it now, she had to go look for Karma. "Let's go." She exhaled and started walking in the opposite direction of Kai.

The shading collection of trees seemed to stretch on as far as Mariah could see and she was not liking this. There was not a person in sight, no sign of human life or anything… just… trees. It wasn't long before she started to get tense. She could feel Tala's gaze on her. At any cost, she had to avoid his mesmerizing stare.

She looked through the trees to her right, the side Tala wasn't on… she looked to the ground for a little while… then she decided to gaze at the sky. It was then that she noticed the sun was setting, was it really that late? The sky was covered by an orange-ish, pink-ish haze. Mariah loved watching the sunset. It was so… breathtaking. It made her feel calm despite the uncomfortable position she was in or the stress she was under. It made her think about all the people that made a difference in her life, the people she loved; her Mom, Mala, Lee her dad…

… Kai...

**Mariah's POV**

After I noticed what I had just thought, I stopped dead in my tracks. _No, I don't love Kai. I can't, he's L.A.'s little brother. I don't love Kai!_

"Mariah?" looking up, I noticed Tala calling me. "Are you o.k.?" he asked politely with a tinge of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine." I said, walking up to where he was.

"Good." He smirked when I looked up at him with a confused expression. "Kai would kill me if I let anything happen to you." I could feel the crazy look I gave him covering my face. He just laughed at me.

After that we walked a little more in silence, giving us both time to think. Me, about my life and family, Tala… about Tala-things I guess. Even though I was worried about my mom and Mala, I couldn't stop thinking about what Tala had said. Why would Kai care if something happened to me?

As if reading my mind, Tala said, "He likes you, you know." That same mischievous smirk from before crept back on his face.

"What?" I just couldn't have heard him correctly.

"Kai. He likes you… a lot." The smirk never left his perfect face. There was something about Tala that intimidated me and I just don't know why. I wasn't scared of him or anything, it's just… o.k… maybe the main word isn't intimidate, more like envy…

He has so many things I don't. Perfectly smooth pale skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight, beaming white teeth that he showed to almost no one but Kai, lean and muscular physique… well I didn't want that last part, I've always wondered about his hair though. Is it prickly, silky, bushy? What? And then there was Kai…

It was simply undeniable that Kai loved Tala and Tala loved Kai… in a brotherly way of course… I think… Wait! What am I thinking! Kai nor Tala is gay! But if they are… together… I wouldn't stand a chance…

Realizing what I had thought again, I guess I may have accidentally made another weird face. "Mariah, are you sure your o.k.?" The tenseness between us had slightly dissipated. Just enough for me to talk to him…

"Hey, Tala?" I asked ignoring his question. I think it was rhetorical anyway.

"Yeah." He answered with that smooth, creamy tone he very seldom used… only when talking to Kai… alone. I had overheard them talking a couple times… in English. Even though he sounded god in Russian too. "What is it?"

I couldn't believe I was about to ask this. "You… and Kai… are y'all…" I trailed off, I was too nervous and embarrassed to finish the rest of that sentence, but judging by his horrified face expression, I could tell he finished it in his mind.

After a couple of awkward passing seconds, Tala turned to me and his shocked looked turned into an amused one as he let out a loud and untamable laugh that made some birds in a nearby tree flutter away. I groaned in embarrassment and looked away. I had just noticed that we were no longer walking.

"Please… tell me… you're kidding." He said calming down, wiping the tears from his eyes that had formed while he was laughing. I still looked away.

"No," he finally answered. "Kai's like my brother from another mother. There's no way in-" he stopped to point at the ground so that I would fill in the word without him saying it, "that I would ever _be_ with Kai." He laughed again.

We were walking again. "Wow!" Tala exclaimed, not completely out of the blue. Then I noticed his face growing serious. I hope I didn't offend him. "Do we really give off that impression to people?"

"No… I'm just extremely observant. You and Kai never talk to people, but you always seem to talk to and sit by each other." I said shyly.

The male beside me let out a "hmmm…" Then he shook his head. "Well, you have nothing to worry about. He's all yours."

"What! No, no, no! I don't like Kai!" I defended myself.

"Suuuuuuuuuure, that's why you were writing about him in your diary." That mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth again.

"You read my diary!?" I couldn't believe this. Who was I walking with!? Because this was not the Tala I have grown to know… well, more like _expect_, since I didn't know him.

"You went on about how… interesting he was." He sounded as if he was trying to find words, but it was true! I kept stressing about how Kai intrigued me and how I wanted to get to know him better.

"You read my diary!?" this time I screamed, completely I outraged by his lack of respect for peoples private property. How'd he even find it!

"No." he said simply, smirk still in place. He seemed unfazed by my yelling.

"No?" I repeated.

"No." he confirmed.

"Th-then how did you know I wrote about Kai?" I said placing my hands on my hips.

"You just told me." His smirk only deepened as he pasted my motionless form. I just told him?! He didn't know. I just stood there… dumbstruck.

"Don't worry, I promise not to tell Kai." He assured me before turning around and staring at me with those sea blue eyes. "Unless of course…" he trailed off upon us hearing something.

"Did you…?" I asked an unfinished question, but he knew how to end it. He shook his head yeah. We walked up to a near by bush and peaked over.

We both saw Karma running around two very tired and frustrated teenaged males. I recognized them as, I think, Kai's other brothers. I don't think it was just a coincidence that their nicknames started with an 'L' just like L.J. and L.A. Wait, I just mention L.A. and **didn't** feel sad… is that a good thing?

"Riah!" the small girl yelled, startling the two boys. Tala and I walked all the way through the bushes. Karma came and hugged one of my legs and was now saying something to me in Russian that I did not understand. To confuse me further, much to my dismay, the guys started to also converse in Russian.

I groaned loudly, trying to throw a hint that I wanted to be included in their little conversation. Tala caught it… then dropped it. He threw me back an amused wink. Aaaarrrrrggggg! Kai better come get his friend before I get him! Man, when I get my hands on a translator!… Karma is going to learn English if it kills me! Then, after calming down, I reached down and picked Karma up.

"We have to go back to the meadow." Tala then fully turned to me and smiled. L.K. was smiling too! "What?!" I demanded.

"Did that complete circle we did confuse you?" the annoying redhead asked. Circle? I looked around a noticed there was something familiar about the place. Then I saw my things by a tree… where I left them.

"Oh." I said feeling a light blush come to my face. That's when Ray, Ming-Ming and Mariam came in our little camp spot. Kai still wasn't here though… What if he's lost? That thought pasted soon, Kai and the word 'lost' just didn't go together. Then I saw Hilary, Tyson, Max and Julia come through. Still no Kai. Emily and Kenny came later. I think that's everybody, but Kai's still not here… wait… someone else is missing. _Salima…

* * *

_

Gasp! Where's Kai? I guess you'll just have to find out next chapter.


	7. Cliff Hanger

Thanks to: **Molly Yokunaii**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **Bluestray**, and **DancerInTheDark101** for reviewing for reviewing! I hope you guys still like where the story is going.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade, just my OC's.

* * *

**Last time:**

That's when Ray, Ming-Ming and Mariam came in our little camp spot. Kai still wasn't here though… What if he's lost? That thought pasted soon, Kai and the word 'lost' just didn't go together. Then I saw Hilary, Tyson, Max and Julia come through. Still no Kai. Emily and Kenny came later. I think that's everybody, but Kai's still not here… wait… someone else is missing. _Salima…_

**Now:**

With Karma still on her hip, Mariah turned and walked to Tala whom was still speaking in Russian to L.K… L.D. really didn't appear to be listening. He was leaning against a tree in Kai pose.

"Tala, Kai hasn't come back yet and I'm worried." Mariah admitted un-hesitantly to the redhead.

L.K. ran a hand over his black braid and said, "Well, he cain't be lost. Hiwataris' neva get lost." He boasted with the Hiwatari trademark smirk.

"I know something happened to him. I have to go look for him." The pinkette was now beginning to panic as she look up at the sky and noticed the sun was beginning to set.

"You can't go by yourself." Tala protested when the girl began to walk off.

"I'll go with her." Came a smooth unknown voice. Mariah look to see that it was L.D. He gracefully pushed himself away from the tree. Tala wasn't to sure about letting Kai's brother, whom Kai had never met before, go off with Kai's girlfriend… well, Tala referred to her as that.

"No offence L… D, I think," Tala struggled not to get their letters mixed up. "But I think I should go with her." He began to walk off with the pinkette a few steps ahead of him.

"What? You don't trust me?" L.D. asked with something that Tala couldn't place, covering his voice. The redhead looked back to see a tiny smirk in play on his face. Sea blue orbs looked with poison apple red ones, as they seemed to try to see through one another. L.D. no longer looked calm, but slightly demonic and Tala wasn't liking it.

"No, I don't trust you." The redhead answered solidly. Mariah had just gave Karma to Mariam and was now beginning to pull him in the direction Kai had disappeared in previously. The brown haired half-Russian answered with a nonchalant shrug and went back to his tree.

_I have a bad feeling about that guy… _the Russian thought, trying to keep up with Mariah. Tala noticed Mariah seemed to walking much faster than before. He couldn't believe he was actually having trouble keeping up with her.

She kept this solemn expression on her face, like see was in very deep thought, which she was. Her pink hair pounced up and down as she trudge through the thick forest as if she knew exactly where Kai was. The redhead couldn't place it, but there was something different about the way she looked now. She seemed angry and not up to talking like usual.

"Did you notice that Salima was missing too?" he asked and was aware that Mariah tensed at the sound of her name, but said nothing.

_Is that what this is all about? Mariah's mad because there maybe a slight chance Salima and Kai are out here somewhere together…_

"Nope, didn't notice." She lied knowing good and well that both her and Tala was aware of the female redheads absence.

_Did Salima really steal Ray from Mariah?_ He pondered. _If so… I'm guessing that Salima is number one on Mariah's suspect list. _His smirk was unseen by the pinkette as he walked along. _Wait! I wonder if I'm on her suspect list…_

"Hey Mariah?" Tala asked trying to break the new and growing tension between them again.

"What?" she sounded a little on edge and anxious which took Tala by surprise. Her tone could almost be taken as rude.

_Someone's got PMS_. "Um… am I on your suspects list?" he asked even though he knew Mariah wasn't in the mood for conversation.

"Second suspect." She answered matter-of-factly with a hint of apathy.

"Second! What?! Why would I want to kill Kai! He's my best friend!" the redhead yelled outraged. He was almost sure Salima was at the top so did that mean she thought he could be more of a threat than Kai's brothers? He was about to protest when they heard…

"Help! Help!" Tala's thoughts were cut short by someone screaming, it was a girl's voice. "Somebody please, help!" The two teens suddenly started to run. Both were trying to find the source of the noise. Trees and stumps and branches scratched and tripped them as they ran though the thick mass of trees. Hearts pounded wildly as they wonder what would await them at their destination. Would Kai be there. If so, is he o.k. "Help!" Once out of the bushes Mariah and Tala came to the spot that the noise was coming from… and a cliff.

They looked around for a few seconds before seeing a hand holding on to the ledge. "Help!" the voice was now clear, both knew who it belonged to… Salima.

"Do we really have to save her?" Mariah asked seriously playing.

She could have sworn Tala glared at her before he went to go save Salima. "I've got you." He grabbed her dirt-covered hand and began to pull her up. It didn't take long for Tala to pull the female redhead over the cliff.

"Thanks." Salima said in that _my-hero_ voice.

"Thanks." Mariah sneered under her breath.

Then almost as soon as it left, panic was visible on Salima's face again. In a breathless hurry she said, "But that's not why I was yelling for help!" she didn't even give Tala the chance to looked confused. "Kai fell down there! He's unconscious!" she shouted running back to the cliff dragging Tala by the shirt along with her.

"What did you do you whore!?" Mariah accused letting her temper and past disagreements with the girl get the best of her. She stomped over by the cliff where Salima was.

"Mariah, let's not jump to conclusions." Tala tried to calm the pinkette down while seriously continplating jumping over the cliff to get Kai.

"She just pushed your best friend over a cliff and you're defending her!" Tala looked down at Kai's limp, unmoving form covered in dirt.

"You don't know what happened Mariah!" the redhead yelled at the pinkette. A tense silence passed as the Tala and Mariah stared each other down. The pinkette shook her head before looking over the cliff. What she saw almost brought her to her knees. Kai was lying motionless, face down on a ledge that was coming out of the mountain. His clothes were tattered, and in some places, bloody.

"Kai!" she yelled before jumping over the ledge and down the rocks.

Tala was wondering if he should be worried about Mariah's safety or not. She glided down the mountain like a pro, so he figured she had everything under control. Landing with and 'thud' on the ledge that Kai laid on, she looked over his limp body. No longer thinking about the fact that she supposedly didn't like him in anyway, she looked him over. She was worried about him, terribly worried. She gingerly turned him over him on his back. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw all the cuts and bruises on his face.

"Kai…" she moved a bloody lock of hair away from his face and carefully started to pick him up.

"Can you carry him back up Mariah!?" Tala asked, remembering that going down was easier than coming up and coming up with a person was even harder.

"What do you care!" a stubborn answer returned followed by a grunt as Mariah tried to pick Kai up.

"Mariah stop being so impossible! Do you need help or not!" Kai's best friend was now beginning to get impatient. "I swear, if you drop him…"

Suddenly Ray and Max came out of the brush. "What's going on, we heard yelling?" the blond asked the two standing near the cliff.

"Ray, Kai and Mariah are down there! Kai's unconscious and Mariah's trying to get him, but I don't think…" Salima trailed off and watched as Mariah slowly jumped from rock to rock with Kai, bridal style, in her arms. She was visibly exhausted, but something in Mariah just wouldn't let her give up.

Maybe it was stubbornness, maybe it was determination or maybe… maybe it was her job. L.K. wanted her to protect and help Kai, _her_. Not Ray, not Tala, especially **not** Salima, but her and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way…

…Except for the rock she just slipped on. Her and Kai went sliding back down the mountain until she barely caught onto a rock.

"Mariah I'm coming down there!" Ray yelled starting to jump down.

"No! I can do this myself!" she said with anger. _Come on, Mariah. You can do this_.

"You're crazy!" Tala yelled. He was so close to jumping down there himself, but he knew it wouldn't do him or Kai any good if he committed suicide. Mariah and Ray were neko-jin and what was he? Russian… accused of being a cyborg, which he highly doubted. "Mariah, you are screwing with my best friend's life and I'll be damned if I let you kill him!"

Ray had now reached where Mariah was barely holding on to the rock with on leg on another one and the other dangling with Kai's. He was on a ledge a few feet away from them. "Mariah, give me Kai." The raven-haired teen said.

"No! I can't do this!" she yelled back.

"You're both going to fall unless you give him to me!" Both the pinkette's arms were getting tired as she held on tightly to Kai's muscular form by his waist. The only reason Ray didn't snatch the slate haired teen is because he knew it might knock Mariah off balance and cause her to fall.

"I can do this!" He saw something in Mariah's eyes that he had seen before. When had he seen it? Was it when her and Salima fought? No. Maybe it was when she fell out of that tree when she was three. No… The thing with the scissors… _Oh!_ He remembered_, it was after L.A. died. Mariah was a wreck and that look in her eyes was the same. Dark and cold… almost insane_.

"Mariah… please…" he pleased, trying not to push her over the edge. (Jash: this is no time for jokes.)

In response, Mariah tried to push up with the one leg that was on the rock. Ray watch, horrified when the rock broke and crumble into piece as it fell down the seemingly bottomless mountain.

"Mariah!" Tala and Ray yelled at the same time.

"Please Mariah… you're risking Kai's life. His life! Is it fair if you take it away?" the raven-haired boy reached out slowly for Kai. He watched as the pink haired girl looked over her shoulder and at the rocks that were still tumbling down the cliff.

"Is it fair if any life is taken?" Mariah asked solemnly. "Is it?!" she demanded. Her shout echoed everywhere.

"N-no." Ray answered.

"Then why are you trying to take mine. He's mine, L.A. is mine!" her hand slipped more.

"Mariah… that's not L.A." Ray quietly informed. The pinkette looked at Kai as if noticing it was him for the first time. She hadn't been trying to save Kai, she was saving L.A.

Her hand slipped once more. She whimpered, now realizing the insanity of what she was doing. She looked down at the ground… well, you couldn't really see it.

"Ray, help me!" she cried out with a horrified expression.

"I will, just give Kai to me." Ray held out his hands and grabbed Kai and in one swift movement, hoisted him over his shoulder. "Now give me your hand." Mariah did so and Ray pulled her over to the ledge he was on. "Wait here and I'll bring you up after Kai." He instructed. Mariah nodded.

She watched as Ray jumped from rock to rock, taking Kai higher and higher. Averting her eyes, she looked straight into the cold, infuriated eyes of Tala. She shrunk under his malignant glare, wondering what she was going to say to him when she got back up. She nearly lost his best friend… even though it wasn't all her fault. Her mind was playing with her again.

She suddenly remembered the question she asked herself earlier_: Wait, I just mention L.A. and __**didn't**__ feel sad… is that a good thing? _She once thought. She thought that she had forgotten too much about him and was losing him more and more each day. She felt horrible for it! She accused herself of replacing him with Kai… but was she? Was she replacing him with Kai, or being with L.A. **through** Kai? Did it even matter? L.A. was taken away from her and that **should** have been devastating, but now all she can do is think about his brother. Was she truly that evil?… It wasn't fair… It wasn't fair to L.A. and it wasn't fair to Kai, so from there on out Mariah made a promise that she would not and could not ever be with Kai… never.

The pinkette was so lost in thought that she didn't notice she was no longer staring at Tala, but at a tree that was so tall it could be seen over a cliff. She also didn't notice that Ray was carrying her up.

"Riah, you o.k.?" the male neko-jin asked.

"I don't know." Was Mariah's answer.

When they had finally got up the mountain they found Salima and Max waiting for them.

"Um… Mariah, are you o.k." the pinkette was surprised that none other than Salima had asked this question. Now Mariah just knew she was evil. (She, meaning Mariah.) Here was a girl that Mariah had just accused of pushing a guy off a cliff and she was asking the pinkette if she was well.

Mariah's face reflected much confusion at first, but the corners of her lips managed to curve into a light smile. "I'm fine. I may need a little therapy, but for now, I'm good." Both girls walked ahead, laughing and actually forming none violent conversation.

Staring dumbfound, Ray and Max paused for a moment. "Ray, correct me if I wrong, but aren't Mariah and Salima mortal enemies doomed to battle over whatever forever?"

"That's what I thought." Ray answered scratching his head and beginning to walk. "I will never understand girls."

* * *

O.k. people I need constructive criticism, for real! I don't want flames, just tell me how I can make this story better… I feel like something is seriously missing... do you?

And later, you'll find out why the other's had abandoned the other limo.

Please review!


	8. Do What It Do LK!

**Jashomara:** Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for the wait. Really, I am. I just couldn't think of what to do in the story, I don't want it to end so soon. I got it now.

**Lady J:** Lots of our stories will be updated much quicker now seeing as it's almost Summer! Woo hoo!

**Jashomara:** Thanks for being so patient and for reviewing. Now, for the story!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own beyblade.

* * *

Mariah sat with Mariam to her left and Salima to her right, in front of a blazing fire with her back to a tree. It was now nightfall and some of the teens were getting slightly worried that they have yet to be missed. The pinkette still was angry about what she had done at the cliff earlier that day. She didn't think she would ever forget it either… and neither would Tala, or so it seemed.

The redhead was currently glaring at Mariah from the other side of the fire, eyes blazing with anger seeming to burn Mariah more than the fire would. She wanted so badly to apologize and she would, just after Tala cooled off. Kai was still unconscious and laying in Tala's lap, but he was breathing well and that's all Mariah needed to know. She was now thinking of motives in her head, why would anyone want to kill Kai?

"Having any luck?" Salima asked, not looking at Mariah's paper, knowing that it wasn't for her eyes.

"A _little_…" she admitted. "L.D. and L.K.'s motives would be to gain the family fortune. Tyson's motive would be to pay Kai back for taking his title as World Champion in blading, but if it is Tyson, he had to have help. No offense to him, but I don't think he could pull off a successful murder and have me thinking this hard about it, by himself." Salima and Mariah, joined by Mariam shared a few giggles.

"That's not nice." Mariam playfully hit Mariah and glanced over to Tyson.

"Hey, I'm only using logic." Mariah smiled.

"It could be Hilary too because it wasn't to long ago before Mr. Unconscious over there turned her down after she asked him out." Salima put in her two cent while spreading a little gossip, but then again, this was a murder case. No evidence should be withheld.

"Uh-oh." Mariam laughed hearing the "evidence".

"But through all of that…" Mariah paused. "I can't help but feel like this is Tala's doing. I mean, who else, besides Kai's brothers, knew where L.A. lived or where L.J. was… just him. Who knows where Kai is 24/7? Tala. Kai and his brothers obviously make no contact, so…"

"Well how come it can't be you!" Hilary had been listening to the girls for a while and could no longer hold her peace. Standing up, she continued, "How is it that you just happened to be dating L.A. when all this started? Why is it that you knew L.J. but didn't know Kai's other brothers? What irony that must be in your life that you just happened to be in the very place Kai, your dead boyfriend's brother, was getting shot at? How is it that you always know exactly where to find him too? Tell us Mariah, how?"

The bunch of teens were now silent, no one made a move or sound, anticipating Mariah's answer. The pinkette looked at Mariam, then to Salima, back at Hilary and her eyes landed on Tala, "Well Mariah?" the redheaded male asked.

"Like she said, irony… or… destiny." She answered quietly trying to turn down her fury.

Hilary just laughed, "You know what I think about that… bull shit!" Hilary yelled re-rekindling Mariah's earlier ignited anger. "Admit it, you went out with L.A. and then killed him so you could get his fortune, you befriended L.J. so then you'll have his riches too and now you're trying to seduce Kai, but it won't work! Kai's smarter than that!"

"That's not true you little bitch!" Mariah's temper snapped again. "I loved L.A.! I still love him and I will always love him! I don't care about his money!" she was now standing and walking up to the brunette.

"Oh? Well, I'm pretty sure you will care about it when Voltaire dies and all of L.A.'s inheritance goes to you!" lots of surprised looks were seen around the fire. "Yeah that's right, L.A. **and** L.J. left **all** of their money to Mariah!" Hilary laughed hysterically at the shocked reaction she was getting from the other adolescents.

The pinkette stayed silent. She didn't even realize she had more motive than anybody! Had the killer's been setting her up that whole? Why didn't she realize it!

"Mariah? Is that true?" Mariam asked slowly.

"Y-yes, but… it's only because they didn't trust anyone else-"

"Strange how a week before they died, you were suddenly added to their Will." The brunette leaked all the information she had. "Now you're trying to get poor Kai. You all know what she did at that cliff!" Hilary directed that towards the onlookers. "You were going to make it look like an accident!"

"No! Shut up! You have no clue what you're talking about! I would never ever try to hurt Kai in any way! Not now anyway…" she trailed off. "A few weeks ago… I wouldn't have cared if he fell off a cliff. Ha! No skin off my back! At least I wouldn't have to risk my life to save his again." She shook her head. "That's how I would have felt about that. But now… When I saw him down there on the ground covered in dirt and blood… I found…" she stopped to wipe some of the tears that she just noticed had formed in her eyes. "I found, that I care about him a lot more than I thought I did. Not because he's my dead boyfriend's brother! Not because L.J. told me to care, but because… because I…" she just shook her head, not being able to finish her sentence.

Everyone, except Tala and Karma whom was sitting beside him, was unaware that during the beginning of Hilary's little speech Kai woke up. He had listened to the whole conversation and was now in shock. _Mariah… cares about me?_ Kai wondered. _No… what if she __**is**__ the killer… she could have just been carrying on like that to throw off suspicion. _Kai sighed deeply and closed his eyes. _This is all too complicated. If she wanted to kill me, she had all the chances in the world when I was at her house… She can't be the killer… I don't want her to be…_ he squeezed his eyes shut.

"You o.k. Kai?" Tala asked quietly, seeing his friend struggling internally.

"No, a killer's after me… would you be o.k.?" the slate haired teen answered.

"Yep you're o.k." the redhead smiled before turning to Karma and nodding. A huge grin lit the little girl's face.

"_Yay! Kaizi's awake!"_ the blue hair girl yelled in Russian then scooted closer to Tala and gave Kai a big, wet kiss on the cheek. _"I thought you had died, Kai!"_

Everyone turned to her direction and saw Kai awake. "Hey Kai, you're conscious! I was afraid we had lost you." Ray chuckled.

"_Yeah Kaizi, everybody was worried especially Tala-He was all mad at Riah because she almost dropped you off of a cliff-They got into a huge argument when Riah got back here and he said some things I shouldn't repeat and Riah was all like blaming herself. Mariam and that redhead girl that I don't know were all like it's not your fault, but Riah wasn't having it and she-"_

"_WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!"_ Kai yelled trying stop the little girl's mouth from running. _"Slow down you're talking way too fast. Riah was what and Tala said…" he trailed off, confused._ Kai spoke in Russian. _"And what the heck do you mean she almost dropped me off a cliff!"_

Karma sighed heavily. _"You went to go look for me, remember? In the process you somehow fell off a cliff and Riah went to save you. Somehow though, she went insane and thought you were L.A. and was determined to "save him" while slipping off the ledge she was holding on to with one hand."_ She explained.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much." L.K. said getting surprised looks from people who didn't know he was sitting behind them.

"Hey, L.K. or L.D. or whatever your letters are, can you please tell us your real names so we won't get confused?" Salima asked slightly annoyed.

"Ha! That's really funny." L.K. said sarcastically getting an angry look from the redheaded girl. "Go ahead, puff all you want, but you will not get to know my name."

"Hiwatari's!" Salima folded her arms and put her nose in the air.

"I never did anything to you!" Kai yelled in his defense.

"Well, people-that-name-only-consists-of-two-letters!" Mariam and a couple other's chuckled. Karma was one of the ones that laughed, even though she didn't know **why** she was laughing, but when she saw Mariah's unhappy face, she frowned.

Walking over to the other side of the fire she said. "Riah." It was the only word that would let Mariah know she was talking to her. The three-year-old squeezed between Salima and Mariah and laid her head on the pinkette's arm, then looked up questioningly.

"I'm o.k." Mariah said, even though Karma didn't know what she said, but to interrupt, Mariah smiled. Karma smiled back. Feeling up to doing something else besides mopping, Mariah picked Karma up and put her on her lap. Then she pointed to the fire. The little girl looked at the flames with growing curiosity. "Fire." The pinkette looked back at the little girl. "Fi-re. Fire."

"Uh-oh." Kai said from beside Tala.

"What?" the redhead asked.

"Mariah's trying to teach Karma English." The slated haired boy observed through the flames. He watched as the pinkette pointed to random objects and said them so Karma could repeat to the best of her ability. _She's so patient and determined…_ he sat thinking and staring at Mariah for a while_. Just doesn't know when to quit…_ he smiled subconsciously.

He didn't notice the person getting closer and closer to him. Soon he felt breath on his ear. "Enjoying the view?" came a deep voice.

"Where'd you come from!" Kai turned to stare into the face of his older brother, L.K.

"Well, little bro," he put his arm around Kai. "I don't know if daddy ever told you this, but when a man and a woman love each other-"

"I didn't mean that you idiot!" Kai yelled, cheeks red as ever.

"Well, you asked where I came from and I was about to tell you."

"What I meant was, why are you near me?" Kai asked trying to put some space between them, but failed and ended up being stuck between Tala and L.K.

"Oh, so you can sit up there and hug Tala, but you won't even sit near your own flesh and blood." He said beginning to fake cry. "Fine! I'm sick of your little camping trip anyway!"

"We're not on a camping trip." Kai said calmly. Then he realized something, "We're not on a camping trip!" he yelled startling everyone. "I knew there was something I've been meaning to tell you guys. I know how to get back to Moscow!"

"Well, Kai you could have told us that before!" Mariah suddenly yelled, happy to talk to him again, but pretending not to be.

"Well, I would have, but at first you were all upset because of L.J. and everybody was separated, then Karma went missing and I started to worry about her and forgot, after which I fell off a cliff and was knocked unconscious, but I remember now and that's all that matters!"

"You could have **still** told us before regardless if people were missing!" Mariah yelled back.

"Ah…" L.K. sighed. "Love birds arguing, always a refreshing sight."

"Would you shut up!" Kai yelled.

"Oh my Bob! My little brother just told me to shut up!" L.K. exclaimed excitedly. Snickers started to come from the rest of the adolescents as the half-Russian half-African-Russian (A/N: You know, like African American.) smiled brightly at Kai.

"I don't even know you, but that doesn't mean I won't hurt you! Actually that increases your risk."

"Oh my Bob! My little brother just threatened me for the first time!" Tala couldn't help it, that time he even laughed.

"Tala!"

"What!? It's funny." The redhead defended.

Growling and annoyed Kai decided, "We're leaving at sunrise." Folding his arms he rested his back on the tree.

"Oh come on, Pinky, you can't just let him end the conversation like that! Show him who's boss!" L.K. pressed the argument.

"Yeah," Mariah agreed, not wanting to cut her argument with Kai short. "We're leaving in the morning."

"That's basically what I just said!" Kai shouted sitting back up.

"Yeah, but your word doesn't matter, mine does!" she ended feeling proud. Kai just roll his eyes and relax his back again.

"Pfffft! Are you serious!" L.K. burst back out. "Kai, you let her start calling the shots now pretty soon she and her girlfriends will be the ones watching football on **your** t.v. on a Saturday night. She will be the one rippin' and runnin' while you're at home watchin' the kids. She will **demand** to be on top whenever ya'll decided to get yo freak on when ever/where ever!"

"Will you shut up!" Kai yelled, cheeks more red then before.

L.K. sighed. "I'm just trying to warn a brotha." He chuckled. "You think I'm annoyin', you should have got to know L.A. Now he was one annoyin' older brotha." L.K. sat back and seemed to be remembering something.

"L.A. was older than you?" Kai asked wrinkling his forehead.

"Um… yes, he's the oldest out of all of Lunar's kids, that's our dad's name if you didn't know."

"But aren't you like 18?"

"17, but I'm flattered you think I'm older?" he said grinning widely. "L.A. would be 19 right now."

"Wait! Hold the phone!" Ray was now starting to speak. "Mariah didn't you go out with that L.A. guy?"

_Damn it!_ "Maybe…" the pinkette gave a weak smile, hoping Ray wouldn't put two and two together and get four.

"If ya'll were going out last year… then that would mean he was 18 while you were 14." The raven-haired boy yelled outraged.

"That's what I'm thinkin'!" Kai yelled siding with Ray.

"Why do you care?" Ray questioned.

"Um… I don't… I'm just… surprised at the age difference." Kai managed to get an excuse.

"Smooth." Tala said in a low voice.

"Did you and L.A. ever do IT? When I asked him he said no, but he had that tone in his voice that just screamed "I'm lying to you!"" Mariah just stared in disbelief at the random-ness of L.K., this guy whom she didn't even know.

"That's a very personal question you know?" the pinkette said, turning the color of her hair.

"Oh, so you two did fuck!" L.K. continued. (Jash: Someone needs to wash their mouth out with soap, but not Dial because that taste too good. Not that I would know or anything…)

"No!"

"Aw… so you made love." He placed his hand over his heart and looked upwards lovingly.

"No!"

"Well, you were going out with a guy who was four years older than you, you must be some kind of freak!" The black haired teen inquired.

"I am not a freak!"

"No, I mean in the bed and stuff." L.K. just didn't know when to quit.

"No!" Mariah growled hoping Karma wouldn't suddenly learn to speak English and understand what they were saying. "I'm going to sleep." She laid Karma's head against her chest and closed her eyes.

"Yeah me too." Mariam and some other's agreed verbally. Most of them just got into comfortable position.

"She's not going to sleep. She's just pretending to, so when you guys go to sleep her and Kai can sneak off and do grown up things." (Jash: can you guess who said that?) L.K. laughed earning a glare from Kai. "But… Mariah when you guys do sneak off and do stuff, remember to go easy on my virgin little brother."

"I am not a virgin!" Kai couldn't hold his peace on that one.

"Coughliecough!" Tala "coughed".

"Shut up! Ya'll need to eat dirt!" the tortured virgin little brother (Kai: Oh, so you're picking on me too Jash!? Fine be that way!) huffed and just closed his eyes while resting against the tree.

Twenty silent minutes had past after the guys put the fire out and everyone was trying to go to sleep. It would be silent if you didn't count Tyson's snoring. The girls were on one side and the guys were on the other.

All you could hear was the lulling night music of nature and the whisper of the wind. If you opened your eyes all you would be able to see is shadows of figures on the ground. They covered up with the few jackets and blankets they took with them. There weren't that many because they **were** packing for Hawaii.

Suddenly, the call of an owl was heard making some of the girls shudder… and guys too. Now, it seemed as thought the forest was really coming to life as an animal or something crept noisily over the rustling leaves.

A fearful yelp was heard, but no one moved…

"O.k. girls, this isn't school. You won't get in trouble for being too close to a guy and we know you're scared so just come over here and let the men protect you." L.K. broke the silence of the night with his _fearless_ invitation.

"Shut up L.K. Why can't the girls protect you!" Salima shouted, hiding her fear, from her very uncomfortable position on dirt.

"Can I come over?" L.K. asked trying to sound as fearless as possible. Getting unseen shocked looks from some of the girls.

"Oh, is the great L.K. scared of the dark?" Mariam asked amused looking at the rising boy.

The half-Russian started to make his way over where the fire use to be and in between Salima and Mariah. "Hey, I've lived in mansions my whole life, I'm not too keen on forests." Salima scooted over giving the scary cat some room seeing as he was a muscular guy like most Hiwatari's. "I promise I'll be good."

Another moment of silence past before it was broken again by leaves crunching in an unseen area. "H-hey girls, I'm not scared or anything, b-but may I come over too?" Kenny, whom hasn't talked much during the whole time they were there, asked.

"Sure Kenny." Ming-Ming invited.

"Me too!" Max agreed coming over to the other side with Kenny.

"You can't leave me!" Ray followed and got a space between Mariam and Mariah.

"Ray, you shouldn't be scared, you practically live in the woods." Mariah said from beside him.

"I never said I was scared. I just wanted someone to lay by so I wouldn't freeze." It wasn't long before all the guys were on the girls side, except for Kai, Tala and L.D. whom slipped out of the camp sight long ago, unmissed. From the sky, the picture looked kind of weird. A bunch of guys and girls cuddled up on one side and two Russians, freezing their butts off on the other.

"Tala, stop it!" Kai whispered/yelled to Tala, referring to the chattering of his teeth.

"I c-can't." the redhead said back rubbing the goose bumps that covered his bare arms. "I-it'ssssss c-cold." Suddenly both boys saw a head pop up on the other side of the fireplace. "WHOA!" They both yelled.

"Mariah, is that you?" Kai asked trying to make out the figure.

"Yeah. You guys can come over here if you want, we have lots of space." She informed hoping Tala wasn't still too mad about before.

"Yeah, lil' brothas, ya'll can come over and lay beside me." L.K. invited startling Mariah and making her jump.

"I thought you were alseep!" she exclaimed looking at him.

"Naw… I can just be real still in situations." He explained. "Come on Tala and Kai." It didn't take the two freezing Russian a second thought before they came over and squeezed on either side of L.K. Tala was between him and Salima and Kai was between him and Mariah. At that moment L.K. realized his own older brother, L.D., was no longer in the camp sight, but resolved that he would probably be back in the morning. _L.D..._

The skin to skin contact was electric through Kai and Mariah's bodies making a very temping and uncomfortable situation for the both of them. Kai had the urge to put his arms around Mariah's petite waist, but resisted. L.K. turned to face the back of Tala's head with a huge smile on his face, _My work here is done._

* * *

And so is mine! So was it good, bad, was there too much talking and not enough scenery? I know there's some spelling errors, but I did proof read. Review!


	9. A Moment Like This

I'm glad you guys/girls enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you'll like this one too.

Thanks to: **Bluestray**, **Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**, **BeMyfRIeND4eVA **and** Molly Yokunii **for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. I feel the need to put that.

* * *

A few hours had past since the teens had laid down to rest. It was so late that even the nocturnal animals weren't heard anymore. Maybe there was the occasional owl or creature running through the leaves, but nothing dramatic. Snores could be heard all over the campsite, but Tyson's was the utmost loudest. How the teens got to sleep while lying on the ground, Mariah didn't know because she sure couldn't do it.

The strange thing is, she was use to sleeping on the ground. Before she moved to Russia she use to sleep in China's forests all the time, and loved it! _Maybe it isn't the forest that makes you uncomfortable._ Whispered a voice in the back of Mariah's mind. _Maybe it's the person you're sleeping by._ The pinkette shifted for the seemingly fiftieth time that night, feeling her skin rub against Kai's she shivered and her heart raced.

_That's it, I'm going to take a walk._ Sitting up carefully, she looked around to make sure no one was awake. She moved karma off of her and put the girl on Kai's chest. She couldn't tell if anyone was awake seeing as it was pitch black outside, but she could tell if they were up. Using her hands, she pushed herself on her tippy-toes then slowly and gracefully stood up.

Stepping lightly, she avoided anyone's body parts that might be in her way on the ground. Getting to the end of the maze of human limbs, Mariah began her walk into the free space.

_O.k. I'm just going to take the path Tala and I took when we were walking to find Karma, we ended up right back in the campsite. _Mariah took in a deep breath of air, which just ended up being let back out in a yawn. (Jash: Every time I proofread that sentence I yawn. Seriously!) _Maybe L.A. would want me to be with Kai, he wanted me to go out with L.J. I miss L.A. so much…_

**Flashback**

The sun lightly showered it's ray on a happy couple laying on the beach in Hawaii. The cool tide licked their feet and legs, which were mangled within the others. The moisture in the warm sand from the water made the ground oddly comfortable to lay on. To top it off there were glistening, smooth waves and dolphins jumping energetically in the distance. Put all of the above together and it creates the perfect day at the beach.

As for the couple, they didn't need the scenery, the sun, the sand, they were just happy with each other as they basked in the other's presence. Golden eyes stared into deep crimson ones as a certain pink haired girl looked down at the muscular male adolescent under her.

"Come on L.A., tell me!" Mariah smiled brightly while asking the question of the day for the millionth time. "We've been dating for a year and three months and I still don't know your real name!"

"And I'm just fine with you calling me L.A." the blue-ish brown haired boy laughed at his girlfriend's persistence.

"Please L.A.?" she pleaded making her cutest puppy dog pout.

"Well…" Mariah smiled brightly and leaned onto him more, wondering what his name might turn out to be. "Nagonna."

"Nagonna?" the pinkette asked confused.

"Yeah," L.A. kept his smile in attempt to stifle a laugh. "I'm Nagonna tell you." He laughed as Mariah hit him in the chest and began to get up.

"Fine! Then I'll go find a guy that will tell me his name, and he'll be cuter and smarter too!" she yelled running into the water.

"Oh really?" the boy stood and chased after his lover whom was entering the ocean. Staring at her he noticed, again, how her light blue bikini with dark blue flowers on it showed off all her fine curves. Sure they weren't as defined as they would be in the future, but he was willing to wait. Finally he had caught up to her in the ocean.

"No!" Mariah yelled trying to push past the waves and current, but she knew it was over when she felt a strong pair of arms lift her up and the owner throwing their bodies into the water, forcing her down with him.

They came up with Mariah's arms and legs wrapped around L.A.'s nicely toned torso. Not meaning to be perverted, L.A. put his arms under Mariah's butt and lifted her higher so her wet but soft lips met his in a gentle, sweet kiss. After a couple minutes of kissing and sweet-talking between kisses, L.A. stopped and said, "Angel." Mariah gave him a slightly confused look. "My name." He informed.

"Angel." She sighed. "What about the 'L'?"

"The 'L' stands for my dad's name, Lunar, meaning having relation to the moon or relating to silver. My brothers have it in front of their names too."

"So, you're Lunar Angel. It sounds so romantic." She smiled and laid her head on his chest. "I love you, my Lunar Angel."

**End Flashback**

"Lunar Angel." The pinkette whispered. She had been walking for quite a while now, thinking about the beautiful moments in her and L.A.'s relationship. That was one of her favorites. How she wished the day she gave her virginity to him could have been one of those moments, but it could never be, considering it never happened. She was too scared to have sex and just wasn't ready for it. L.A. was willing to wait… Mariah hated that she never got to make love to him. If she knew his time was going to end before she turned fifteen, she would have done it when she was twelve or thirteen. That's the tricky thing about death though, you never know when it'll come knocking.

Mariah was so caught in her thoughts she didn't notice the person that had been quietly stalking her that whole time. "You know," the person started, nearly scaring Mariah to death. The pinkette swiftly whirled around to see a dark figure. "It's not good to walk alone in a forest with a killer on the lose."

"Who are you?!" Mariah demanded almost stumbling over a tree root. She tried to put on a fearless face, but the horror was still there.

The person walked into the moonlight, making their amused smirk seen.

"Kai." Mariah said dryly before taking a deep breath of relief.

"How dumb can you get?" Kai asked rhetorically.

"Excuse me!" Mariah yelled outraged while walking up to the never smiling Russian.

Kai gave a 'humph' before continuing. "First you run out in front of a shooting gunman to save the life of someone you don't know. Next, you drive right into the way of danger and got your car blown up. Then, you invite that same person with a hit out on him to stay at your house! No, you **made** him stay at your house. And now, knowing good and well there's a maniac that's already murdered two and maybe more people out here in the forest, you decide you want to go and take a walk, alone, at night!" The two-toned haired boy let his smirk melt into a dissatisfied frown as he glared at the pinkette. "Did you dye your hair pink?" he insulted.

The female couldn't believe Kai was saying this. The guy that she had been risking her butt for was calling her stupid for the same reason that he should be thanking her. "How dare you!" she walked swiftly over to him until they were just a foot apart. "I did all this for you! Save your life, invite you into my house, risk my butt for yours and this is how you repay me!? Calling me stupid!?"

"I never asked you to save my life!" the phoenix yelled trying to convince Mariah that he didn't need her, but he didn't understand how he would convince her of something he wasn't even sure of. "Promise me now, after we get back to Moscow that you will go home and forget all about me!"

"No! I won't! I can't let you die!"

"Why?!"

"Because…"

"'Because' is not an answer, it's what dumb people say when they're asked a question that they're too chicken to answer!" Kai strongly informed.

Mariah looked away clenching her teeth and trying so hard not to slap Kai in the face. So many times had she been tempted to give up and to just let him die, but she knew her conscience wouldn't allow her to sleep one night if she did. Her heart pounded and her blood coursed like fire through her veins. She wanted so badly to tell him how she felt about the whole situation and what she had been thinking about those past few days. She wanted so badly to admit her feelings for him, but was afraid of how he would react.

"No." she said simply.

"No what?" Kai spat.

"No, I won't forget about you! No, I won't leave you! No, I won't let you die!" The pinkette yelled still fuming with anger. "Now you need to respect me and quit being an asshole!" now that she got the words out, it was Mariah's cue to make her move. It took the two-toned haired teen a few seconds to realize why his head was turned and why his left cheek was stinging, but he got it eventually. Mariah slapped him!

The male slowly turned to face a glaring pinkette and stared straight into her fierce golden eyes. In the darkness of the night the adolescents glared each other down, neither even thinking of turning away. It was quiet… not the type of quiet you would hear at the library, but the quietness that would usually be heard when someone was in a bad predicament and no one was going to snitch on them. The quietness you heard when someone was trying to find the truth…

Kai was surprisingly the one that lost the glaring contest to look up at the sky. Mariah was glad because she was on the brink of giving up. "So, your not going to leave me?" he asked calmly.

"No!" Mariah said in that same stubborn tone.

Kai took a deep breath and looked back at Mariah. Then he quickly said, "Good, because I couldn't live a day without you anyway!" anger falsely placed in his tone. He then started to walk away.

"I don't care what you say! I'm- What?" Mariah asked jogging to catch up with him. As soon as Mariah lifted her hand two touch his retreating form he turned around and gently took it in his. "Why wouldn't you live?"

"Because…" he said, stealing Mariah's previous answer and looking into her eyes.

"Chicken." Mariah mocked with a serious expression.

"Chicken am I?" Kai turned back around and started to walk back up to her. Mariah braced for harsh words and maybe even physical contact. And boy did she get it. The pinkette suddenly felt Kai's warm lips softly land on her's in a passion filled kiss. Getting brave Kai got closer and wrapped his arms around Mariah's slim waist pulling her to him. The pinkette followed suit and wrapped her arms around his neck. They both waited so long for this moment… longed for it. They wanted it even before they knew each other. The moment they knew that they had found that special someone and now had one more reason to live. The moment they would both cherish for the rest of their lives. The moment they knew someone cared for them and wouldn't let them be alone. It was a shame that this moment had to be cut short by Mariah pushing Kai away so that the sharp, nicely aimed arrow whirled right in front his head instead of through it.

"What the!" Kai yelled as he looked to where the arrow, that was now deeply imbedded in a tree, came from. Both teens saw a dark figure standing in the trees. "You!"

"How dare you kiss my woman you little termite! Now, I'm really going to torture you! I was going to have my two trusted henchmen to kill you, but you just made it personal little brother!" the male figure growled. "Oh, and better check on your little Tala, I don't think he's breathing very well." The guy said darkly before jumping away while laughing maniacally.

"Tala?" Kai asked wide-eyed before darting off to the campsite with Mariah close behind. _He better be o.k. I'm coming Tala_!

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**Lady J:** Run Kai, run!

**Jashomara:** Run as if the Devil himself and itself was upon you!- Johnny Depp said that in _Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest_. But that's not the point. Save Tala!

**Lady J:** If you ever want to know if Tala lives or dies, review!


	10. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Hello peoples! I'm back! Sorry, if you thought it was a bit of a long wait. Anyway, **big** thanks to my reviewers! Without you, this chapter would not be written… trust that…

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Don't own beyblade.

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Kai and Mariah quickly raced back to the campsite through the blinding darkness of the night. Sweat trickled down his face and into Kai's crimson eyes that seemed to light up in the dark, but he wasn't about to stop. He definitely knew he was being watched, but nothing was going to prevent him from his current goal: saving Tala.

He was slightly relieved as he entered the moonlit camp spot, seeing as he had reached his destination with no problem. Now that he was there, he had two very big reasons not to be calm. One, everyone was in a panic and crowding around Tala, and two, Mariah was no longer behind him.

"Where did she go?" he looked around fear-stricken and worried that the killer had Mariah, but before he could dwell on the worry any longer, Hilary ran up to him.

"Kai! Kai, Tala can't breathe! There's something wrong with him!" she dragged him over to the, now parting crowd.

Body trembling and heart pounding wildly in his chest, Kai walked up to his seemingly motionless friend. The thought of losing him was unbearable and he simply wouldn't allow that to happen, not today or for another sixty years or so. It was only when Kai knelt down beside Tala, did he notice the swift rising and falling of his chest and the shallow, rough breaths he was taking.

"Tala, where's your pump!? Please don't tell me you didn't bring it!" Kai shouted to the Russian who's eyes were slightly closed.

"He said it was in his bag, but it's not there anymore." Ray informed standing on the other side of Tala's lying form. "We emptied everything out. It's not there!"

"Kai, what are we going to do!? We can't let him die!" Salima shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks. Kai couldn't quite understand why, seeing as she hadn't even met Tala before.

"Shut up! He's not going to die!" Kai bellowed furiously. _Stupid, emotional females! _"Back up, all of you! He needs air!" On Kai's command, everyone glided back from the two Russians on the ground. The slate hair teen felt like crying at the moment, but he needed to be strong. He now knew what it meant to be stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard place. Mariah was missing and he couldn't look for her because Tala was losing air and he didn't know how to save him. _Think Kai, think!_ He growled helplessly.

There was no control over the situation and Kai hated that. Nobody held the antidote, no amount of money could get someone there fast enough to save his best friend. Nobody was aiming a gun at him or holding a knife to his throat, so there was no negotiating. This was a battle within and if not won quickly, Tala would lose and Kai knew that.

"What's wrong with him?!" Salima cried.

"Asthma." Ray said solemnly, never once taking his eyes of the disconsolate scene.

"Oh," the redhead looked down, sadly. Then she remembered something and her head darted back up. "Ray, do you remember when I dragged you to the movies that one day?" she asked quickly.

"Salima, this is no time to reminisce!" the raven-haired youth shouted.

"No! The movie we saw was about a girl who got kidnapped and while the guys had her, she had an asthma attack. They didn't have an asthma pump so they used coffee' to open her airways!" now she had Julia and Mariam's, whom was hold a crying Karma, attention.

Ray's eyes widened. "Yeah, but it was just a movie."

"You got any other ideas?" she asked placing her hands on her hips. "Anybody here got coffee'?"

"Salima, this is no time for a coffee' break." Max told her.

"It will help Tala! Coffee' opens airways!" she yelled, tired of people questioning her thoughts and motives. _No one ever questions Mariah._ Suddenly everybody was in a rush, looking for coffee… or so it seemed.

Emily and Kenny were on the laptop trying to find a plant that would help if they couldn't find coffee. "Has that laptop been working this entire time?!" Tyson asked.

"No, it didn't have any signal before, but now it does." The orange haired girl said.

"Then call for help, dumb ass!" Kai yelled at her, frustrated that she didn't speak up before and that things were falling apart.

"Sorry, I was trying to find something that could help him right now." She retorted in a snobby tone.

"Wait! Emily, didn't you say you packed coffee before we came here!" Ming-Ming asked walking to Emily's bag. "You said that you and Kenny were going to need something to wake you up in the mornings to do research or some crap."

"I don't remember saying that." Emily denied.

"Well, I'll check."

"No!" she shouted darting for her bag. "You shouldn't touch other people stuff." She grabbed the bag and dug through it for a bit. Everyone was watching her. "Nope, nothing."

"Gimme that bag, bitch!" Salima snatched the bag from Emily's hand and pulled out a small can a coffee, which was lying on the top of everything in it. "Julia!" she called, tossing it to the Spanish girl whom was standing somewhat near Tala and Kai.

"Got it!" Julia announced then pulled the open can thing (Boy does that mess up a dramatic moment.) and the lid came off. "What now?"

"Let him breathe it through his nose." Ray told her, recalling the movie, then began to glare at Emily. "You guys, I think we may have found our first killer."

Emily's eyes went wide. "No! I didn't know… I…" she tried to think of an excuse. Kenny got up from beside her and took his laptop with him. "I…"

"Forget it, Emily!" came a voice, the owner unknown. "Come on, my plan is already in action. It was easier than I thought. If I knew that Tala was first on Kai's "Loved One's" list I would have kidnapped him instead."

"The tree!" Tala managed to get out even though his lungs were still trying to get in some much-needed air. Emily walked over to the tree that the masked killer was standing in. Everyone looked up.

"Kai, you have a choice to make." The murderer announced boldly. "You could either stay here and wait for Mr. Dickinson and back up, I had Emily call him for you, see I do look out for you little bro," at that "little bro" comment, Kai thought of L.K. and L.D. and saw that neither of them were on the scene… or maybe one of them were. "Or, you could go and look for Mariah, but if you choose the second one, it will be a waist of your time for you see, she's mine."

"How dare you! If you wanted Mariah that bad why didn't you just try and seduce her the old fashion way. Why kill! Answer me! You killed your own brother's, why!?" Kai yelled, still hovering over Tala, afraid that his brother, the killer, would try and shot him or something.

"Kai, you're so dumb! This was not about Mariah from the beginning! Well, it kinda was in a very small way, but I wasn't intending on stealing her from you! You brought her into this when you stayed at her house!" he said.

"Hey, don't give him any information!" Emily yelled.

"Don't tell me how to run this! You leave!" he yelled down at her. That's when the orange haired girl left. Ray was about to run after her, but Mariam held him back. "So, Kai, do you want to play a little game I like to call Kitten, Cat and Tiger! Come and play if you dare." And with that, he jumped and disappeared into the trees.

"I have to go find Mariah!" Kai said getting up from beside Tala whom was now sitting up himself.

"I'll go too, you need back up." Ray said strongly insisted. "Mariah's my best friend, there's no way you can stop me."

Kai took in a low breath, knowing Ray wasn't going to leave Mariah's life and safety to him alone. "I'm coming too." everyone looked at the now standing Tala.

"No Tala! Did you not learn from what just happen to you!" Kai declined.

"Did you not learn from what happened to your brothers. There is power in numbers. We could watch each other's backs." Kai couldn't deny the logic in what Tala was saying, but he still didn't want the redhead in this dangerous position. "You need us, Kai."

"Why do you want to help Mariah, you don't even like her!" Kai tried to reason.

"But you do. And if you and all your brothers are after this girl, I just gotta see what all the fuss is about. Plus, I'm your best friend, we have to watch each other's back. Remember our promise?" Tala finished giving Kai and meaningful and sincere expression. Suddenly sirens were in hearing distance.

"That's probably Mr. Dickinson." Kai said trying to figure out where they were coming from. "But why would my brother call for help?"

"Duh Kai!" Tala rolled his eyes. "He wanted to get you alone, knowing that you wouldn't leave Mariah. You falling in love with her wasn't in his plan, but since it happened, he's going to use that to his advantage." the blue eyed Russian once again made perfect sense.

"He really should have listen to Emily when she told him not to give us so much information. We got Sherlock Homes on the case." Max entered the conversation and patted Tala on the back.

Suddenly Tala's face expression was annoyed. He turned to Max. "Don't ever, ever touch me again, Blondie." she sneered ominously.

"Sorry." Max apologized and shrunk back.

"Is anybody out there! Is anybody out there!" the adolescents turned to see moving figures in the distance and all started to yell at once. That was Kai, Tala and Ray's cue to leave the scene.

"Tala!" the guys stopped running to see Salima running to them with something in her hand. The female redhead stopped in front to the Russian and held out her hand. It was the red and blue coffee can. "The coffee. I thought that... maybe... you might need it again." she looked down and blushed. Tala took the can. "Just... don't die o.k." with that she walked off to the rest of the group.

"Wow, looks like someone's got a crush on Tala." Ray teased as they walked along.

"Wha- I thought you were going out with her!" the object of Salima's affection shouted slightly embarrassed.

"We did, like a year ago. It was really awkward because she felt like just another one of my friends, so we decided to be just that... friends." Ray informed.

"Oh, so you two weren't going and making out when we first got here?" the Russian asked.

"No! Who could make out with a killer on the loose!? Are you crazy?"

"Just wondering." Tala sighed. A few weird moments of silence passed. The sun was now lighting the sky with its brilliant rays, making the vast forest a little less... confusing. The redhead then looked at Ray and asked, "Didn't you and Mariah break up because you felt like just friends?"

The raven-haired youth scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I gotta get less girls as friend because they always just see me as a friend." the guys started to laugh including Kai whom had been thinking about Mariah the whole time. Another silence. "Hm... you think I should start dating guys?" Kai and Tala looked at Ray in shock and glided further from him.

"Ray, don't even kid." Kai stared at him, still keeping his distance.

"Maybe I'm a girl on the inside." he mused. All Kai and Tala could do was stare at the Chinese teen horrified, wondering if they should continue this search with their seemingly metro-sexual friend. "Those Victoria Secret thongs would look nice on me, don't you think?"

* * *

**Mariah:** Hey, Jashomara! Why was I not in the chapter?

**Jashomara:** Because you got kidnapped.

**Salima:** Yep, this was my time to shine!

**Lady J:** Yeah... Mrs. Ivanov. -teasing-

**Mariah and Lady J:** Salima and Tala sittin' in a tree... -singing- -Now running from Salima-

**Jashomara:** -trying not to get hit by flying objects- Please Review!


	11. Mystery Unfolding

Yes, I am back! I got the sudden urge to update this story. Lady J and I talked everything over and I wrote down what would happen in the future. Sorry I had to delete that last chapter. It didn't go to plan. I got something way better.

In refreshing my memory I went back and corrected a butt load of errors in the previous chapter. I've also changed a few things, like ages and other small stuff.

**Please**, before you give up on this story, read this chapter to the end, and then decide if you still like it.

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A groan was heard in the silence of the massive bedroom on the fifth floor of a hidden mansion. The room was very high quality; it had a crimson carpet with red lining, as were the curtains, the bed canopy and bed sheets. Going through the castle you would guess that red and gold were the owner's favorite colors. The mansion was miles away from where our teens were last seen, yet one of them was in this room.

Confused golden eyes peered out at the blizzard that was going on beyond her glass balcony doors. With the ruthless wind, went her hopes of ever being found. How could someone find her in this storm! Mariah was sitting up, hugging her knees to try and comfort herself, but she was still on the brink of a break down. She had woken up about ten minutes ago and upon remembering what had last happened, she ran for the door. But anyone could guess that the kidnapper had locked it. The balcony doors were also locked, but that was in vain. She was on the fifth floor!

She tried to concentrate on the positive. The fact that she was in a high-class room and not some cold, foul smelling cell was, great considering she was a capture. All she could do now is stare at the unexplained portrait on the wall. It was in the center of the main display wall, it was also the biggest thing. It seemed to rule over all the small certificates and newspaper articles that were hung along with it. Tears were silently streaming down Mariah's face. Her sadness drained the little she has energy to walk over and see what the papers said. Her puffed eyes just kept focused on the picture.

The picture frame was made from gold… real gold, so you can guess that the picture it held had to be pretty important. It took a special craftsman to make the tiger design around it; they were so defined and neat. The background was a lush forest, much like the forest Mariah had been taken from and would give anything to go back to. A girl sat in the middle of a meadow with the suns ray bathing her angelic face and she smiled at the sky. It was a lovely picture truly and must have taken days to create… this scared Mariah because the girl in the picture… was her.

Why would her captor take the time out to make this beautiful portrait of her?…

**With Kai and them… **

"This is way too hard! Why is your brother killing off people!?" Ray yelled, even though he said "your brother" he was directing it to both Russians.

"Ray, if we knew that, I'm pretty sure we would have this whole thing just about wrapped up." Tala responded calmly. "At least we know who it is… kinda."

Kai stayed silent, trying to come up with a plan or something else they could do besides walk blindly through the forest. _Please be okay, Mariah…_ he thought while dragging in a long sigh.

"Tala, do that Sherlock Holmes thing you did before and think up something that can help us." The raven-haired male urged wanting to find his best friend as soon as possible.

"I can't just turn it on and off Ray, genius comes on its own," Tala responded haughtily, while trying to fight back the insult that was about to come out of his mouth, but the other teen had been working his nerves for the last thirty minutes, "You'd know this, if you had a brain."

"Did you just call me stupid?" Ray felt affronted.

"I rest my case." He replied smoothly, folding his arms and looking to the other direction.

"You know what Tala!" the redhead faced the teen with a challenging raised eyebrow. Ray felt like something seriously cruel and hurtful was about to come out of his mouth, but all that floated its way up was, "You're the stupid one!"

"Ouch, I'm so hurt." The Russian countered indifferently. Ray was about to try his hand again when they heard a gasp.

They both looked to Kai who was looking forward. Horror struck, the three guys stood, looking at where a crime scene had taken place. "Well, I guess we can cross another brother off the list of suspects." Ray joked, trying to make him self not feel like throwing up. A growing pin was in Kai's chest and his breathing was getting tougher. L.D. was hanging from a tree on a noose with blood covering his limp body. Kai was frozen in his place. It's hard registering that some who he had just seen yesterday was hang, bloody and battered from a tree… dead.

"Shut up, Ray." Was Tala's late retort. He studied the horror stricken look in Kai's eyes, knowing that without his help, Kai would be standing there staring for quite a while. "Kai…" he whispered, pulling Kai's arm. "We have to save Mariah." He glanced back at the body and gulped. A shiver went up his spine. "It's too late for him…" he trailed off.

The slate haired teen felt his blood run cold as he continued to stare, barely hearing the words his best friend was uttering. He didn't know the guy very well, but what he did know is someone was slowing killing off his flesh and blood, two who he never even got to meat and now L.D. who he never got the chance to sit down and really have a conversation with. Now he only had one brother left. "One brother left…" he whispered. L.K., the only one of his siblings who he had somehow gotten acquainted with during all this mess. "One brother left…" Tala and Ray just stared at Kai, wondering when he would snap out of it.

"That's right! One brother! Meaning L.K. is the killer!" Ray shouted, scaring some nearby birds away.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Tala snapped. "Do you want to get killed!?"

"Was that a threat?" he questioned.

Tala mentally slapped himself. "No bird-for-brain! I meant, that if you keep being so loud the killer will eventually find us! Jeeze!"

Ray was about to give up, when Kai shouted, "Quit arguing! Aren't you guys tired of that yet!" He turned to face them both. "Tala, if the killer did come and shoot Ray dead, right now, would you be happy with what you have been saying to him this whole time and Ray vise versa!" he yelled passionately at them both before storming off.

The bickering two lowered their mental guards walls and quickly followed their friend. Kai stopped after he was a good ways away from the scene. He fiercely yanked at his hair in frustration and hopelessness. Then let go and sighed while slowly dropping to the ground.

"Kai," he heard the redhead call from behind, but didn't answer. Tala sat down beside his best friend, but had no comforting words to speak. He gingerly placed his hand on Kai's leg as his only consoling action. Ray sat a ways away giving the two as much privacy as you can while being in a forest with a murderer after you. Tala turned to Kai who was looking down in Tala's direction. "What are you think?" he whispered.

Kai shook his head from side to side, but the other Russian stayed silent. He watched as the phoenix's faces started to turn a light shade of red. He averted his gaze to his hands that were placed in his lap. The pain in his chest was getting stronger and on top of that, there was a lump in his throat. He sucked in a sharp breath. Tala could see the liquid emotion in Kai's eyes that he wouldn't let spill over. He sympathized with him.

"Holding it in won't help, Kai." Tala spoke softly. It seemed that immediately after that sentence, a single tear fell from Kai's eye. Another followed that one… and another. Tala put his arms comfortingly around his sobbing best friend, wishing he could somehow make him feel better. Nothing came to mind… Ray stayed silent.

**With Mariah**

She doesn't know whether it was out of bravery or boredom mixed with nervous anticipation that she found the strength to get up and walk to the wall, but she was sure glad she did. Mariah had been reading a few articles that were hanging on the collage. Most of them seemed to be oriented around two people named LaKaiara Rasheme' and Lunar Hiwatari. She also noted that the newspapers came from Australia.

An extreme look of astonishment covered her face as she continued to read the article she was on. It was titled: There Goes The Bride:

_Australia's princess LaKaiara Rasheme does not know if she hears those wedding bells anymore. She and her fiancé' were allegedly seen outside of her house boisterously arguing. Witnesses say that they heard Miss Rasheme' accusing her fiancé' of being unfaithful to her, claiming that the female he was cheating on her with, called saying she needed money for necessary baby items for their son. Other spectators say that Lunar Hiwatari has been seen around other countries with other women. They say that none of them looked at all like LaKaiara._

Mariah glanced over at a picture of a beautiful young woman with wavy black hair with blue highlights. She had a nice curvy figure and breathtaking crimson eyes. She was all together stunning. Mariah couldn't help but stare for a few more moments. _Lunar's an idiot!_ She thought before continuing to read.

_Australia is now wondering what will happen to the pride and joy of the Hiwatari family, 12-year-old Kai Hiwatari, who hasn't been seen with either of his, said parents, since the day he was born. He is said to be living in a secret mansion with his grandfather somewhere in Russia. There is a lack of evidence to say that LaKaiara is his mother, knowing Lunar Hiwatari's sexual background, there could be a number of candidates. We will keep you updated. _

The shocked expression stayed in play on the pinkette's face as she began to read the next article, the questions in her mind over flowing. This article came out almost most a year after the other.

_LaKaiara Rasheme', fiancé' of Lunar Hiwatari was found dead this morning in her home after ostensibly drowning herself in the upstairs bathtub. But she was not the only life that was endangered. Miss Rasheme' was seven months pregnant with a baby girl, said to be Lunar Hiwatari's. But when our news crew got to the crime scene it appeared that she had had an early labor because the baby was nowhere to be found. Another mystery that is on everyone's mind is: was it suicide? Police classified it as that, but Detective Winds evidence suggests other wise. Water was splashed at least ten feet away from the bathtub and Miss Rasheme also had a few bruises on her stomach._

Mariah suddenly gasped upon hearing someone behind her. She was so distracted reading the article that she didn't even notice someone coming inside the room. She turned abruptly to see a woman standing there. Silky black hair with blue highlights, mesmerizing crimson eyes, nice coke bottle figure… Shock drove through her body, freezing her to the point that she could do nothing but utter one word, "…Kai." Was her last plea for help before darkness consumed her.

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Please, please PLEASE review and tell me if you are still interested in this story and want me to continue.


	12. The Full Story

Back again! Thanks **Bluestray**, **.Gabby-chan182.**and **Minky2008** for reviewing! I'm updating for you guys!

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Our favorite male detectives walked wearily through the forest. They had been wondering blindly for quite a while now and were getting discouraged. No Mariah. No murderer. Not even a clue! And they didn't seem to be getting any closer to Moscow either. Finally Tala stopped.

"You guy!" Ray and Kai stopped to look at the redhead. "This is so hopeless, Barney would even give up on this! We keep going like this and the forest will eventually do the murderer's job."

The other two could not deny Tala's logic, so no protest was made. Kai then sighed, "But just stopping here won't help either. That'll definitely get us no where."

"I don't mean stop, but we need to look for a water supply; a lake! Because us dieing of exhaustion and dehydration would not be very exciting." The boys nodded in agreement.

"O.k. Ray, do that neko-jin stuff and find us a lake!" Kai ordered feeling a new rush build up inside of him. But before the teens could go on their next journey they felt a tremendous gust of wind beating down on them. Shielding their eyes, they struggled to look up to see a helicopter. But not just any helicopter, a personal Hiwatari helicopter! A rope later was let down.

Kai's instinct told him that it was safe to go up. But when he tried to walk, two different hands firmly grabbed his arms. "We can't just go up there unarmed!" the raven-haired teen shouted over the noise of the wind. Tala nodded.

"We have no other choice! This is our best bet!" while the boys were bickering the person in the airborne machine decided to land.

**With Mariah**

Once again, unsuspecting golden eyes opened to the gold and red room. The pinkette's disoriented thought were telling her that it was all just a dream, until she realized that she was still in the same fairytale room, but was indeed not a princess. She blinked a couple times to get a clear look around.

"You really are beautiful! The boy spared no detail." Mariah looked up to see the gorgeous woman admiring the portrait of her and remembered all that she had learned from the last time she was awake. "I have no intension of hurting you, darling so you may relax." She turned to face Mariah.

"The… paper says that you're…" Mariah couldn't find the bravery to come to term with what she had read and what she had seen.

"Dead?" LaKaiara finished the sentence. "Oh, it's just one big misunderstanding!" she laughed. "As you can see, I'm right here." He laugh was like a wind chime, very pleasant to the ears. It was a calm laugh almost a giggle. Through Mariah's fear, she found an ounce of comfort. The woman didn't seem to be any sort of perilous.

The neko-jin slowly rose out of the bed and stepped onto the crimson carpet. She didn't know why she was walking up to the wall again; to the mysterious female, but she was. LaKaiara seemed to be waiting for Mariah to say something. "So… why am I here?"

The older female gave a feeble smile. "Um… I don't really know." This comforted Mariah even more. The woman knew nothing about the kidnapping! "It was kinda like someone ringing your doorbell and leaving a baby on the porch." She laughed again. Mariah smiled.

"So, can I… call my mama?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, follow me." The pinkette smiled brightly, but something was nagging at her, telling her to keep a very strong guard up. The woman led her out the door and into a long hallway. Unlike the room, the hallway wasn't filled with pictures and paintings. The walls were a nice, plain sky blue.

"So, do you live here by yourself?" the pinkette decided to make conversation.

"No, there are a few more people here. I couldn't possibly live here alone." They came to a phone at one point in the hallway. Mariah picked it up, but there was no noise. "The phone's dead." LaKaiara screwed her face up.

"What?" she took the device from Mariah and put it to her ear. "That's… really weird. I just used this one this morning to call my aunt." That fact did not make Mariah feel good, but at least she wasn't alone anymore. "Let's go to the one down stairs."

**With The Guys**

They were currently riding in the helicopter with an old friend… Voltaire. As much as they hated him, they knew he couldn't possibly be the killer, on the count of, he couldn't exactly leap on and off trees as he wished.

When they got in, they were shocked by the information the elder Hiwatari shared with them. Everything was so unbelievable and everybody was connected to something.

"So you're telling me, Tyson was the one trying to kill Kai by the café'? Tyson?!" Ray yelled hysterically. "Then how many of these henchmen does the killer have? Emily first, now Tyson! I wouldn't be surprised if Mariah was in on it!" the little space suddenly got quiet. As quiet as a helicopter could be.

"No!" Kai started. "Mariah wouldn't!" Nobody challenged him for a while, but everyone had their thoughts.

Tala, being his best friend, thought he should entertain this thought for just a second. "But Kai, think about everything that Hilary said while we were around the campfire. She **is** a good candidate and all the victims seem to have some connection to her. Maybe it was her plan for you to fall for her."

"But why would she do that!? What would she gain?!" Kai felt a knot in his chest. _All that we've been through, all that we shared… No. No! I won't believe it!_

"She already has L.J. and L.A.'s inheritance." The redhead pointed out. Ray dared not speak yet, Mariah was his best friend, he couldn't bear to think of her as a killer, but… the evidence did point to her being seriously involved.

Then he thought of something. "How did Hilary know that Mariah would get L.A. and L.K.'s money?" Nobody had picked that up at the time. The brunette had no business knowing that, there was no way she could have known.

"See! She was just trying to frame Mariah! Mariah didn't do it." Kai took a breath of air, feeling relieved.

"But we can't rule her out just yet, a lot of the things Hilary said were true." Tala is really good at this detective stuff.

"Kai!" they heard Voltaire call from the front seat. "If Mariah is kidnapped, where is Karma?"

"Oh no! She left with the others. Hilary and Tyson! But would they killer want her, too?" Ray asked no one in particular.

"Of course. She's Kai's sister." Tala received glared from the other two teens.

"And how long have you known this!" the younger Hiwatari shouted at his best friends.

"I figured it out about twenty minutes ago. I mean, Kai, your siblings are getting killed off. Why else would Voltaire, your grandfather, send a little girl your way? When you say it out loud, it sounds stupid because you have people after you, but Mariah seemed to be doing a good job protecting you, so…" he smirked, feeling like he was on a new high. "Hey V, am I right?"

"Yeah, Tala." The gray haired man affirmed dryly.

"Oh yeah! Five point for Tala!" he grinned. Kai glared at the hyper-ness his friend could harvest in a situation such as this.

The bluenette rolled his eyes. "Anymore information granddaddy?"

The old man seemed to be contemplating something. They knew her knew other facts about what was going on. He knew way more and they were about to find out. "About four years ago your mother and father started having some problems," he started, the first sentence catching the boys' full attention. "Women started calling your mother day and night and sending letters telling her that they had Lunar's, your father's, children. This really upset your mother and to make matters worse, she was three weeks pregnant with your sister, Karma, at the time."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Kai asked, with a dazed look in his eyes.

But Voltaire went on like Kai hadn't said a word. "Your father would come home, furious at the other women for calling LaKaiara's home."

"Who's LaKaiara?" Ray asked, even though it should have been obvious.

"My mother." Kai said simply.

"Lunar knew good and well he was wrong, he knew he shouldn't have been sleeping around. But he never liked to own up to what he did, so he started to blame everyone else. At first he kept denying that he knew what the women were talking about. Then he admit to sleeping with one woman. But after LaKaiara started to show in her pregnancy, she told him about it. He then decided to confess about all his affairs, but turned it around on LaKaiara and accuse her of being unfaithful and said the Karma wasn't his!" this was the craziest true story they had ever heard. Kai didn't know his father was that sly and awful!

Voltaire continued. "They had so many arguments and Lunar had come home many times enraged, grumbling about how he was so angry "almost"… and "could have"…" the man paused. "I knew, that he had already put his hands on LaKaiara, she had come and told me once or twice about how she thought he was trying to kill her and the baby. One day he… succeeded." Loud gasps were heard on the copter. "Lunar called me crying and wailing telling me how he drowned a seven months pregnant LaKaiara, along with their unborn child in a bath tub after she wouldn't have sex with him."

"But you can't have sex with a girl when she's seven months pregnant!" Ray shouted as if the guy was there.

"He was looking for an excuse… that was the best one he could come up with." Voltaire looked down in shame.

"Well, surely he's still in jail right? So he can't be the killer!" Tala said hopefully.

"I'm not saying he's the killer. Boris and I arrived at the crime scene, Lunar was long gone and LaKaiara was still alive, but there was no way she was going to make it. She told us to just take the baby and make sure it would be o.k. Somehow she managed to push the baby out. She got to hold and name Karma before she died. Boris had a plan though, the baby need a womb to dwell in, unless Karma wouldn't have made it." Even though they knew Karma was very much alive and growing, they were still on the edge of their seats.

"What was the plan?" Ray asked.

"To make a cyborg LaKaiara, with all her memories, talents and features. Indeed Boris did a good job, for having such a short time. After Karma was reborn, he modified LaKaiara and made her exactly like the previous one. She still lived in Australia, we had been keeping track of her." Kai didn't like how he was saying this. They treated his mother like an experiment, but then again, it wasn't his mother. Somehow, he still felt a tinge of anger about it. "But about a year and a half ago, we lost her. She just disappeared! Then six month later, we heard that Lunar's first born was murdered. We saw the connection after the next killing and I immediately sent for someone to look for her. We never found her. I didn't think she would go after her own children, but apparently she wants to get rid of all traces of Lunar."

"But she's not my real mother." Kai stated. He never knew his mom, but he didn't want to think of her like this.

"No, the real LaKaiara was a very sweet girl. I don't think she would ever do this no matter how evil Lunar was to her. But the final thoughts she was thinking before she died must have been somewhere along the homicide lines. Boris thinks the cyborg LaKaiara is feeding off of those final thoughts and running away with them. We think after this, she will go on a killing spree."

"That's why she named Karma, Karma!" Tala was thinking again. "Lunar tried to kill her and her child, so she's going to kill him and his. What goes around comes around."

"So now where are we going?" Ray asked.

Then the unnoticed pilot finally took off his helmet to talk. "L.K.?" Kai yelled in shock.

"We're headed to a very special place in Russia." He answered with a smile.

"But you're the killer!" Kai felt trapped, what if L.K. decided to take all of them out at this very moment!?

* * *

Yeah, I know, too much dialog, but that's what happens when you're doing these murder fics. The next chapter will probably be the last.

Please review and tell me what you think! No flames please.


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